Nothing Equals The Splendour
by BrightShiningAsTheSun
Summary: Set during Series 5. The Winchester brothers must fight to stop the Apocalypse, angels, demons and everything in-between. Along the way, they meet Adelaide and her partner Lee, two hunters who offer up their services to help save the world. Between fighting good and evil, the team make allies with some rebel angels and together, they fight for what they know is right.
1. Chapter 1

**IMPORTANT: This story will take place sometime after Series 5, episode 9 ('The Real Ghostbusters') and will end on episode 22 ('Swan Song'). It will also involve characters that were not in series 5. **

**NOT SO IMPORTANT: I do not own Supernatural. But if I did, there would be a lot more Cas.**

* * *

Time, it seemed, was running out for Adelaide Kingsley. The darkness that plagued the entirety of the abandoned apartment building, filled the room she stood in until it felt as if it were pressing against her. The old building was due to be demolished the next morning, so she needed to be out of there as soon as possible. The silence was unsettling. Her heavy breaths billowed and curled into shape in the cold air. That meant the spirit was close. She turned her head slowly to the left then to the right, her bright eyes skimming over the scene, hoping to catch a glimpse of the vengeful spirit now that she had become accustomed to the gloom. When she didn't find anything, she heaved a silent sigh and crept out from her hiding place in an alcove between two walls. She moved her gun from one sweaty hand to the other and turned off the safety with a sharp click, her eyes still flicking over her surroundings carefully. A loud bang to the left made her spring forward and raise her gun, her hunter instincts kicking in at the first hint of danger. With one narrowed eye, she lined up the shot but found there was nothing to aim at. Adelaide held her position for a few more moments, just in case the spirit decided to show. Finally, she lowered her weapon and sighed, relaxing her stance. Adelaide clicked her tongue and dug into the pocket of her worn leather jacket to pull out her EMF meter. She tutted angrily at the readings she was getting. The device was going haywire but there was nothing here.

"Bloody thing." She muttered, resorting to smacking the side of the machine against the palm of her hand, hoping in vain that that would make a difference. It did not, and the machine continued to whir erratically. "What are you on about?" She whispered to the device, shaking her head crossly. All of a sudden, there was the sound of heavy chains clinking behind her and Adelaide whirled around to find the vengeful spirit standing right behind her. Before she could raise her gun, she was sent soaring backwards through the air, her weapon and the EMF reader falling from her grip. Her back slammed against the concrete wall and she slid unceremoniously to the ground. She groaned, swore and slammed her fist against the cold floor in frustration. She'd gotten distracted. Rookie mistake. She wondered momentarily why her back wasn't in excruciating pain and looked up at the wall she had been thrown against. Thankfully, the concrete was beginning to crumble away with age and had softened slightly. Powder covered her clothes and hair and she had to fight not to inhale any of the ancient dust. She groaned again and tried to sit up when she heard the sound of chains jangling again. She looked up quickly and found the spirit standing before her. It was the ghost of a young woman, drowned by her jealous husband back in 1934. She may have once been beautiful, but now her skin was mottled and saggy and seemed to drip off her skull, revealing the sheer white bone of her eye sockets. She was wrapped in heavy, thick chains that fell to the floor, dragging along behind her as she walked. Her dress was torn and dirty, with holes appearing in the old fabric. But the worst part by far was the water that dripped from her hair, her eyes, her nose and mouth. It dribbled down the fabric of her once white dress and off the fingers of her bony hands until it puddled on the floor beneath her bare feet. The girl took a step towards her and Adelaide sprang into action.

"Shit." She swore as she dove between the spirit's legs, rolling across the cracked floor. She managed to grab her gun in the process and rolled to her feet with ease. The girl turned, her movements made sluggish by the heavy chains, but Adelaide was already tearing off down the corridor. She pumped her arms and legs, forcing herself to keep going as fast as she could. She skidded around one corner then another, hoping to lose the monster and give herself enough time to figure out a new plan of action. She turned down one last corridor, hoping that she'd run in more a less a circle when she saw two figures down the opposite end of the hall. She immediately put on the breaks and pulled out her gun. She raised her arms straight out in front of her and tried desperately to remember if the former residents of the old apartment building she had talked to earlier had mentioned anything about seeing more than one spirit. But as she stepped closer, carefully putting one foot in front of the other, she realised that the figures were just people and not ghostly entities. With a sigh she dropped her arms and stalked towards them in as much of an authoritative way as was possible after having been running solidly through endless hallways.

"Hey!" She called to the two figures at the end of the corridor, their faces shrouded by the gloom. "Hey! You can't be here!" She was within 10 feet of them when she put away her gun. She didn't want to scare members of the public any more than they already had been by the vengeful spirit. She was shocked when she saw that the two figures were grown men. She'd assumed they would be teenagers, sneaking into an abandoned, condemned building for kicks, but they were adults, one tall and shaggy haired, the other shorter but he seemed to be the leader. She noticed that the taller of the two was carrying a small machine that was whirring, suspiciously like an EMF meter. She narrowed her eyes and drew closer to them. "You've got to get-"

"Get down!" The shorter of the two men cried and he raised a gun. Adelaide gasped and ducked to the floor as bullets ricocheted down the corridor. She looked around just in time to see the vengeful spirit disappear in a whirl of smoke. She stood straight and faced the two men.

"What the-" But she saw the spirit beginning to appear over the shoulder of the shorter man and jumped into action. She reached forward and grabbed their sleeves, pulling them behind her as she began to run back the way she had come. "Go! Go! Go!" She ordered as she let go of their sleeves. She heard their feet pounding behind hers and felt a small sense of relief wash over her as they understood her instructions. But who were these two? Why were they here? And why did they seem to know exactly what they were doing? They couldn't be hunters, she would know if there were more of her kind in the small town she was visiting. All these questions were knocked out of her head and replaced by pain as she was thumped to the ground. She groaned as she landed on her knees and forearms. She looked around her and realised they were back in the room she had started in. The taller man helped her quickly to her feet and she pulled out her gun. The spirit that had knocked her down was smiling eerily at her, her head slowly tilting to one side as if she was trying to work her out. The thought made Adelaide shudder and she cocked her gun, ready to fire.

"Wait." The shorter man suddenly said, his voice a lot deeper and gruffer than she had thought it would be. She looked across at him and he raised his hand, an object gripped tightly in his fist. He smiled wolfishly at the spirit who was quickly advancing on them and opened his fist. Sitting in the palm of his hand was an old brooch, its bright coloured jewels dulled by the gloomy room and age. Adelaide looked back to the woman to see her reaction and saw that she was staring at the brooch intently. She recognised it. The shorter man then raised his other hand and flicked on his lighter expertly. "Sayonara, lady." Adelaide heard him mutter before raising the naked flame to the timeworn brooch. Immediately, the metal began to melt, its colours blackening. Adelaide saw the spirit grow red with anger and she was knocked backwards off her feet _again_ when the woman screamed with fury. The shorter man dropped the brooch to the floor before it could burn his palm and the spirit rushed towards them, her chains rattling eerily beneath the maddening sound of her furious screaming. But before she could reach them she stopped and gave one more manic cry before she disappeared into a wisp of smoke. Adelaide sat back on her hands, breathing heavily. It was over. They were safe. She looked across and saw that the two men had also been knocked off their feet by the power behind the young woman's scream. She turned back to where the woman had disappeared and sucked in a deep, calming breath. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, the adrenalin still coursing through her system. A hand suddenly appeared in front of her face and she looked up to see it belonged to the taller man. He smiled down at her kindly but Adelaide brushed his hand away, choosing to help herself up instead. She brushed off her clothes and nodded to the two men.

"Thanks." She mumbled before she grabbed her bag from the corner and stormed out of the room. The two brothers watched her leave in varying stages of surprise and confusion.

"Ungrateful much?" Dean muttered as he straightened out his jacket. Sam shrugged back and went to pick up their EMF reader where it had been knocked out of his hand when he fell. He stooped and grabbed the device. It had stopped whirring now that the threat was gone and he shoved it into his bag. He turned and Dean walked to him, his hand outstretched.

"Here." He said, holding out a small machine but not looking at him, distracted by the gun that he was reloading expertly. Sam frowned at his brother and took the EMF reader from him. He reached into his bag and pulled out the one he'd just picked up. Dean raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Lucky find?" He guessed. But Sam knew better.

"The woman." He said and Dean nodded. They both looked in the direction she had exited and followed suit.

* * *

Adelaide heaved her bag up onto the boot of her car and stared rooting through it. Gun, check. Salt, check. Extra gun, check. Holy water, check. Knives, check. EMF reader, che- Wait. Adelaide's brow furrowed and she dug around in her bag more. Where was that bloody machi- Oh. Adelaide sighed and let her head fall back exasperatedly. She knew exactly where it was. She hadn't picked it up after the spirit had knocked it from her grasp. She clicked her tongue and zipped up her bag, chucking it roughly into the boot of her car. She'd have to go back in and get it now. All she wanted was to go back to her motel, curl up in bed and watch some bad American telly. She clicked her tongue again and stepped away from her car.

"Looking for this?" A voice called. She froze mid-step and turned around to find the two men standing behind her. The taller one smiled at her and raised her missing EMF reader. Adelaide sighed in relief and walked to meet them halfway.

"Thanks." She said, smiling gratefully up at the man. She turned the machine on to check it hadn't broken in the fall, but it looked in good shape. She looked back up at the men when the taller one began to speak again.

"Hey, thanks for saving our asses back there." He said, looking genuinely thankful. Adelaide looked to the shorter man and he nodded with a smile. She returned the smile and shook her head.

"Don't mention it. Thanks for saving _mine_." She replied. The shorter man laughed and put out his hand for her to shake.

"You got a name?" He asked, looking the woman up and down, not so subtly. She was about 5'7" with long, dirty blonde hair that stopped at the middle of her back. She had dark blue eyes and full lips that were currently pulled back in a wide smile. From her accent, he knew she was English but she wasn't nearly as well-spoken as the last English girl they'd met, Bela. She wasn't wearing any make up apart from a smudge of black eyeliner and her clothes were simple, a pair of old jeans and a shirt with a worn brown leather jacket pulled over the top. She accepted his friendly handshake, her grip strong.

"Adelaide. Adelaide Kingsley." She told them with a slight nod. He returned the nod and she shook the taller man's hand as well.

"You're a hunter." He noted and Adelaide had to smile.

"You got me." She said, her arms spread wide. "What gave it away?" She asked sarcastically, making the guys smile.

"I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean." The taller man introduced himself and his brother. Now she realised why she had thought the shorter one had been their leader, he was obviously the older brother. But then Adelaide frowned. Those names sounded familiar. She thought back quickly and realised that another hunter had told her about them back home.

"I've heard of you." She told them, pointing a finger between the two brothers. She thought harder for a moment and realised why. The Winchester's were infamous for their achievements. A lot of hunters knew about them and their story. "Wow, Sam and Dean. You're pretty famous back home." She told them. She didn't miss the somewhat proud smirk that crossed Dean's face.

"Oh, yeah?" Adelaide nodded and her lip curled up into a smile.

"Everyone knows about what you two get up to." She told them and they looked slightly uncomfortable. She laughed shortly and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, the Winchester boys. You've had it pretty hard, eh?" Dean snorted.

"You could say that." He agreed, looking up at his brother who rolled his eyes back. Sensing that she should change the subject, Adelaide cleared her throat and nodded back towards the old block of flats.

"We killed it then? The spirit?" She checked. She wanted to get out of this quiet little town and back to somewhere more interesting. She didn't want to hear about the spirit still haunting people after she'd left. But Dean nodded proudly.

"Yeah, S and M's not gonna be bothering anyone again." He said and Adelaide scrunched up her nose at his crude nickname for the poor woman. Sam noticed her discomfort and quickly said,

"So, anyway. Thanks for, uh, doing half the work." Adelaide laughed and shrugged.

"Just a shame I didn't get to finish what I'd started." She joked, winking at the taller brother. They both smiled and Dean clapped his hand together, a sign that he was ready to go.

"Nice meeting you." He told her warmly, raising his hand in farewell. Adelaide nodded,

"Yeah, you too." She replied, smiling at the two brothers. She said her goodbyes one last time before she turned to her car. She was in the middle of pulling her bag out the boot to return her EMF reader to its rightful place when Dean's voice called to her.

"Unless, maybe I can buy you a drink?" He asked. Adelaide laughed and looked over her shoulder at him. He was smiling devilishly and she guessed that would usually win over most girls. She had to admit, he was attractive. But she had places to be and a microwave meal to eat, no time to think about attractive men.

"I don't think so." She said, letting him down gently as she turned back to her car. She heard his brother laugh and she smiled to herself.

"Or dinner?" Sam's voice asked. Adelaide stopped as she reached up to close the boot and thought about his offer. She _was_ hungry and by the look on Sam's face, it was to thank her for helping them, not to get into her pants. She thought for a moment before she slammed the boot closed. She locked her car and nodded.

"Okay." She agreed and laughed at the mock offended look on Dean's face as his brother succeeded where he'd failed. She saw Sam's triumphant expression and raised her eyebrows. "You're buying, right?" She said as she sauntered past them and towards the car park's exit. It was Dean's turn to laugh now and Adelaide shook her head at the boys. This was going to be a much better night than she'd thought.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take them long to find somewhere suitable to eat. The town they were in may have been small, but it was abundant with restaurants of all kinds: Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Greek. Dean had told them that, so long as he had a burger in front of him in less than twenty minutes, then he was good. Adelaide had agreed wholeheartedly, much to Sam's surprise and chagrin, so they had found a little diner at the end of the food district. Warm light spilled out of the wide front windows of the squat building. A bar ran all the way along the inside with squashy stools in front of it for people to sit and enjoy a drink or a meal. There were six or seven booths dotted around the diner, with little square jukeboxes on every table that would play your song if you inserted a quarter. Music blared out of speakers in each corner of the room, currently the sound of Elvis' 'Love Me Tender' that Adelaide immediately began to hum along to as they were seated by a rather flirtatious waitress. Their conversation was light and easy. Adelaide felt very much at ease with the two brothers who she had only met about an hour ago. The waitress took their orders and sashayed off to the bar to relay the information to the chef, a broad smiling man with a food stained apron. A few minutes later, halfway through Dean telling the story of how they were once cursed with bad luck with hilarious consequences, the waitress came back with her arms full of plates.

"That's the sidewinder soup and the salad combo for you, honey." She breathed, passing the plate to an uncomfortable looking Sam. "The double slammer burger with fries for you, gorgeous." The waitress passed the plate with a not-so-subtle wink, to which Dean looked quite pleased with himself. "And the chicken, lettuce and bacon burger with fries for Queen Victoria." The waitress said finally, passing the last plate to Adelaide who was sat across from the two brothers. She scowled slightly at the nickname but the waitress, whose name tag told them her name was 'Britney', only smiled. She flounced away again and Adelaide rolled her eyes at Dean's snort. They tucked in eagerly, the hunt leaving them famished as always.

"So, Adelaide, what are you doing round here?" Dean asked eventually through a mouthful of food. Adelaide smiled as Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of manners. Dean only rolled his eyes back and continued chewing. "I mean, you don't exactly sound like a local." He added after he'd swallowed his bite of the huge burger he'd ordered. Adelaide shrugged and took a languid sip of her beer.

"Heard Stateside was where all the action was so I hopped on a plane and here I am." She said simply, leaning back in her seat. The soft, red and white leather booth was persuasively comfortable and after the long day she'd had, she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. Her forehead creased as she thought about her stay. "Been here about... Four years now?" She calculated. Then with a smile she added, "Got myself a nice tan." Sam exhaled sharply before raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"You hunt alone?" He asked as he raised his bottle to his lips. Adelaide shook her head, covering her mouth with one hand to answer his question without revealing her mouthful of burger.

"Usually I'm with my partner, but she's having "family problems" at the moment so she's back home for a while." She explained, lazily using one hand to mark her friend's words with air quotes.

"She English too?" Dean asked with a devilish smile. Sam gave him a look but Adelaide ignored him.

"Known each other since we were eleven years old." She answered instead with a nostalgic smile. Sam looked suddenly interested.

"So you're both born and raised hunters then?" He assumed, but Adelaide shook her head again. Her stomach growled at her and she remembered her somewhat neglected meal. She reached forward and picked up her chicken burger with two hands, taking a big bite.

"No, she was. Her mum _and_ her dad. Family business. But, uh, I was attacked by a werewolf when I was sixteen and Lee saved me." She explained, having to suppress a shudder at the memory. It had been a long night and she was walking home from her Saturday job in the local supermarket. She was walking down the street when she heard something following her. She'd turned around to find a man crouched in the middle of the road, his eyes burning bright in the dark night. She'd immediately started running, hoping that if she found someone, they'd help her escape but the streets were empty. Then suddenly, just when she thought she was done for, there was a loud gunshot and the man fell to the ground. She'd turned around and found her best friend standing there with a pistol and an awkward smile.

"Lee, that's your partner?" Dean asked and Adelaide was brought out of her memory. The song playing now was The Beatles' 'Twist and Shout' and she smiled, beginning to nod her head to the beat of the song. She continued to eat and nodded at Dean.

"Mm hm." She mumbled through her mouthful. She clapped her hands together briskly to shake off any crumbs. "She shot the werewolf, dragged my sorry arse back to my house and told me all about what she and her family did. And then that was it. I just had to get in on it." She shrugged her shoulders. "And I don't regret it one bit." She added, more to herself than the boys. She was quiet for a moment, her eyes fixed on the table, and Sam was worried she was getting upset but she quickly snapped out of her daze and reached for her beer. "Could've used her on that last hunt actually. She's a better at thinking, I'm better at shooting." She told them with a laugh. Sam smiled back and nodded towards his brother who at that moment was busy eyeing up their waitress.

"I know what you mean." He told her and Dean pretended to be offended. He gave an affronted 'Hey!' and smacked his brother's shoulder, but not too hard. Then he sent him a grin to show he knew they were only kidding around. Adelaide laughed with them and sat up in her seat.

"So, brothers, then. That's quite cool." She said and Sam pouted his lips thoughtfully.

"It has its ups and downs." He told her, earning himself another slap. Adelaide laughed again as she shoved a handful of thick, salty fries into her mouth.

"So, how's things, boys?" She asked conversationally. She raised her eyebrows when the brother's seemed to clam up. She snorted. "What? You think I'm just gonna let you two buy me dinner and let you get away with not chatting about yourselves as well?" This earned her a quiet laugh from both the boys but they still weren't willing to talk. "C'mon, what've you been up to recently? What car do you drive? What's your favourite song? What's you're mum's maiden name? Blah blah blah." She fired off questions noncommittally, waving a fry about carelessly. Dean looked to his brother who nodded his approval. Adelaide decided they were trying to agree whether they were ready to trust her or not. She had to hide how pleased she was that they had agreed to she was safe to rely on.

"Uh, to answer those in reverse order…" Dean answered with a slight smirk. "Campbell, either Zeppelin's 'Ramble On' or 'Traveling Riverside Blues', a Chevy Impala '67 and uh…" He trailed off and looked to his brother again. His lip was twisted thoughtfully and Sam's sad expression was very uncharacteristic.

"What?" She pressed. Adelaide knew she shouldn't push them if they didn't want to talk about their lives. She had only just met them in very unconventional circumstances. But she found she was far too interested in what was making the boys so quiet all of a sudden to leave it alone. Sam sighed and looked up at her.

"The Apocalypse." He said eventually, his voice unusually quiet. Adelaide, as expected by the two brothers, looked surprised, to say the least. She stared at them for a few moments, as if waiting for Sam's words to process. Finally, she leaned forward and raised her eyebrows at them.

"Sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm going a bit deaf in my old age." She told them, tapping a finger to her left ear. Dean had to laugh then, she could only have been in her early thirties, same as him. "I thought you said 'Apocalypse' there." She said with a weak smile. It was clear that she was hoping they were joking. When neither of them could answer her, she sat back in her seat with a heavy sigh. "Well… Fuck." Was all she could manage. Dean breathed a laugh and nodded, his hands clasped together.

"Yeah." He agreed quietly. Adelaide took another moment or two to take it all in before she seemed almost back to her usual self. She reached for her beer and drained it, which impressed the brothers, seeing as she still had more than half the bottle to go. She settled the bottle back down on the red table top with a loud thunk. She took a deep breath then looked up at the boys.

"Which one?" She asked her, clearing her throat when her question came out as a frightened croak.

"Oh, the Judo-Christian one." Dean answered as if it were nothing and Adelaide nodded her head.

"Ooo, tons of fun." She praised with a tight smile, but to Sam, it looked like she was about to cry. Adelaide squeezed her hands into fists and took a few deep breaths through her nose to try and calm herself down. The Winchesters didn't look as frightened as she felt, so she needed to keep her cool. With a shaky laugh she reached for more fries. "How'd you manage that?" She asked casually, but as she raised the food to her mouth, they all noticed her hand was shaking. She dropped the fries and crossed her arms to keep her body from betraying her. She would not panic, she would not panic.

"It's stopping it that's the problem." Dean said casually, though she thought she detected a faint hint of worry in his voice. They could act as cavalier as they liked, it was clear that she wasn't the only one afraid of what was coming. She smiled weakly across at him and raised her eyebrows.

"You're trying to stop the Apocalypse?" She summarised, somewhat doubtfully. She reached for her beer again and raised it to her lips. When she realised it was empty, she shook the bottle and tutted in annoyance. She raised her hand to catch their waitress' attention and pointed to her beer. "Three more, please." She ordered and Britney nodded, her abundance of red curls swishing about her shoulders. She turned back to the brothers and blew out a calming breath. "Blimey, you dream big, eh?" She told them sarcastically. Dean nodded with a smile,

"It's a blast." Adelaide smiled back but, they could see her façade was beginning to slip. Sam was a little worried. They really shouldn't be telling her if she was only going to panic. But Adelaide seemed to be keeping a pretty good lid on her anxiety, despite the drastic circumstances.

"Sounds it." She replied, but her voice cracked slightly. She looked down at the table and shook her head. The Apocalypse was coming to town and the only people stopping it were two brothers. She felt like she should be warning people, telling them to run as fast as they could, but to where? She bit her lip. All she'd had to worry about this morning was what to have for lunch and the vengeful spirit, and now… The Apocalypse. "How… How are you even going to…? I don't…" She tried to ask, but her voice came out strangled. Sam shook his head.

"Us neither." He told her. She thought perhaps he was trying to sound reassuring, but the fact that they didn't know what they were doing was a little frightening. The waitress suddenly appeared by their table with three beers and another wink for Dean and then was gone again in a whirl of short skirt and fishnet tights. Adelaide sighed and straightened up in her seat.

"Well, here's to you and one hell of a party." She said, raising her bottle. The two brothers raised theirs as well and clinked the necks together.

"Cheers." Sam muttered before they all took a long drink. Adelaide sat back in her seat and played with the label on her beer.

"So, fire and brimstone, that kind of deal?" She asked absently. Dean laughed scornfully,

"Ho ho, yeah." He muttered. "The angels are real dicks as well." Adelaide's head shot up, her eyes wide.

"Angels?" She repeated dumbly. "_Angel_ angels?" Sam smiled. He'd probably looked the same way when Dean had first told him about Castiel and the others. "With wings and halos and 'Do not be afraid' and all that jazz?" Dean shrugged and took another sip of his drink.

"Take away the halo and you've got yourself our biggest problem." He told her with a roll of his eyes. Adelaide leaned her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands.

"Bloody hell. Angels are real." She mumbled to herself. Dean noted her surprise and put it down to the fact that most hunters were not religious.

"Not part of the God squad then?" He asked and Adelaide shrugged.

"Well, I am, sorta." She told them, much to their surprise. "I was raised to be." She started to chew her lip thoughtfully and raised her chin off her hands, choosing to cross her arms instead. "I suppose I believe in God and all that, but I never really bought the whole no sex, no gays, no fun, wingéd children, Ten Commandments kind of thing that a lot of people try to sell as Christianity." She smiled slightly at the thought. "I suppose I always thought, you know, you believe what you want to believe. It's not a package deal." She tilted her head to one side questioningly. "So there _is_ a God?"

"Uh huh. But he's, uh, well, a pretty absent father." Dean replied and Sam nodded faintly. Adelaide frowned,

"What do you mean?"

"He's gone. No one knows where." Dean told her. He wasn't entirely sure they should be telling her all this, but she seemed trustworthy enough. And besides, if she could offer any advice, it would be very well received. "The angels are going crazy, some are even trying to jump start the end of days crap." Adelaide snorted derisively.

"Fantastic." She muttered and reached for another fry. She popped it into her mouth and grimaced when it was stone cold. But she was starving and continued to chew anyway. Then she had a thought. "I don't wanna sound rude, but why is it that _you're_ the ones who've gotta sort it out?" The boys looked at each other again and Adelaide began to wonder if they had some sort of brotherly telepathy going on. Sam pursed his lips and clasped his hands around his bottle tightly.

"We're kind of a part of it." He told her quietly. Adelaide's forehead creased into a frown. Why did they look so sullen? What could Sam possibly mean by being a part of the damn Apocalypse? These were just a couple of the thousands of question buzzing around her head and it was obviously clear she was about to ask them, so Dean cleared his throat.

"But that doesn't really matter." He suddenly said, giving his brother a pointed look. Sam nodded and glanced down at his watch. He was surprised at how late it had gotten. They'd been sat talking with Adelaide for a couple of hours and now that they'd iced the spirit, they really should hit the road. They were headed up to Bobby's next and he didn't care for being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Speaking of, we better get going." He said, politely excusing him and his brother. Adelaide shook her head and smiled at them both as they exited the booth.

"Oh, yeah, sure." She waved off his apologetic smile with one hand. Dean threw down a few ten dollar bills and Sam offered a couple of dollars tip for their good, if flirtatious, waitress. Adelaide tutted and picked one of the notes up from the table and handed it back to Dean before pulling more of the green money from her pocket and placing that down instead. Dean rolled his eyes good-naturedly and they began to walk out of the diner, but not before Dean got blown a kiss from Britney. Once outside, they began to walk to the car park across the street together.

"It was nice meeting you." Sam told her, shaking her hand warmly. Adelaide smiled back.

"Yeah, you too." She replied as she shook Dean's hand. "Give us a bell if you ever need anything, okay?" She told them and they both nodded.

"Okay, short stuff." Dean teased and Adelaide huffed angrily.

"Shut your face." She told him with a light punch to his arm. Dean pretended to be hurt by her violent action and Adelaide had to laugh.

"Bye." He said eventually and Adelaide raised a hand in farewell.

"See ya." She replied. They began to walk away to their car, a black Chevy, like Dean had said, that looked a little worse for wear but still gorgeous. She sighed and watched her breath condensate in the icy air. She suddenly realised how cold it was and pulled her old jacket around her tighter, her hands dug deep into the pockets. As she stood watching the two brothers arguing about something, she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. They seemed like such nice people and they were suffering under such a heavy burden. She realised she wanted to help them in some way. No one should face the Apocalypse of all things alone. She wanted to help them. But how? Then words were coming out of her mouth without her wanting to say them. "Wait!" She suddenly called, just as Sam and Dean were settling into their seats. Then she was running over to their car. Dean frowned out the window and elbowed his brother who also looked over at her. She reached the car just as they were getting out again. "I want in." She breathed, suddenly feeling a lot warmer than she had a few minutes ago, either with embarrassment or excitement she didn't know. Dean frowned down at her in confusion,

"What?"

"If you guys are gonna save the world, you're going to need some help." She told them with a bright smile. But Dean shook his head,

"Look, Adelaide, that's nice of you but-"

"But nothing." She told him abruptly. She looked crossly up at the two men and pulled her hands out of her pockets to look more serious. "I told you, I became a hunter because I wanted to help people and because it was an adventure. But mostly because it would be something extraordinary in an ordinary world. And this, helping you, definitely comes under extraordinary."

"Adelaide-"

"You can't just leave me with this." She interrupted Sam. She shook her head, her messy blonde hair reflecting the bright light from the street lamps. "What if you don't succeed? The whole world's gonna end and I'll be…" She trailed off at the thought and she shook her head again. "Please, let me help you." There was silence for a moment as the brothers once again looked to each other. Adelaide waited with baited breath, her determined expression still in place. Dean finally turned back to her and twisted his lip thoughtfully. Then, much to her relief, he smiled.

"Get in." He told her, nodding towards the Impala. Adelaide grinned brightly back at them and nodded.

"Thank you." She told them earnestly. Sam laughed and moved towards the car.

"Yeah, well, I call shotgun." He told her, to which Adelaide snorted.

"Oh, I'm not getting in there." She said. She realised that had come out a lot ruder than she'd meant it and Dean looked quite offended. She reached forward and patted the car lovingly with an apologetic smile that made the older brother roll his eyes. "You think I walked here? I'll follow on behind." She told them, before she turned on her heel and strode across the car park. Dean turned to his brother and shrugged before they both got back into the car. Dean twisted his key into the ignition and smiled faintly at the rumbling growl his baby gave as she came to life. He reversed expertly out of their space and headed towards the car park exit. The heard a car honking behind them and they both looked into their mirrors to see Adelaide behind the wheel of a red '76 Chevy Camaro. Dean laughed as they waved to her and continued out of the car park, onto the main road that led to the highway.

"I like her." He told Sam who shook his head.

"This is gonna be interesting." He told his brother who laughed and turned up the ACDC blasting through the speakers. Behind them, with her fingers gripping the steering wheel and the reality of her situation sinking in, Adelaide was taking three deep breaths.

"Apocalypse." She said aloud to her empty car. "A-poc-a-lypse. Apocalypse." She took another deep breath and looked in the mirror at herself. She wiped the bottom of her right eye where her make-up had smudged a little and gave herself a determined smile. "Alright then." She said and stepped on the accelerator.


	3. Chapter 3

The two aged Chevys pulled up outside the old house at about two in the morning. Adelaide groaned and pulled the brake down weakly. Being a hunter had its good points, like being able to help people on a daily basis, but the non-existent sleeping pattern was a definite downer. She clambered out of the car, slamming the door with a hard tug. She winced slightly at the loud noise. The long car drive had started a small headache at the back of her skull and any loud, sudden noises were not welcome. She looked around at the old scrapyard and wrinkled her nose. The place was like a motoring graveyard, with pile upon pile of scrap metal, old parts and about fifty or so cars, from what she could see. She turned away from the almost melancholy sight and saw Sam and Dean grabbing their bags out of the boot of their car and making their way towards the old house. Adelaide quickly moved to her own car and pulled out her bag. She followed after them, clenching and unclenching her fists from where she'd strained them by gripping the steering wheel too tight. Adelaide smiled at Sam as she fell in step beside him (although at a much more frantic pace, due to the frankly ridiculous height difference).

"This your place?" She asked him and he shook his head.

"Belongs to a friend of ours." He explained and Adelaide returned her attention to the older brother who had reached the old door. She tried not to look surprised when Dean didn't bother knocking, choosing instead to push open the creaking door as if he owned the place. Adelaide let Sam and Dean enter first, taking one last furtive look over her shoulder before she too pushed open the cracked door. With her heavy bag flung over one strong shoulder, she followed the brothers with trepidation as they made their way through the house. The old wooden floorboards creaked underfoot and Adelaide couldn't help but look around curiously. The walls and shelves of this foreign house were lined with hunting gear: guns, shells and little tin boxes that she assumed were filled with gun powder, were only a few of the things she managed to note before Sam lead her away.

"Bobby!" Dean's loud shout made Adelaide jump. The older brother was looking in all the rooms that came off the hallway they walked down. He'd poke his head though the doorway, shout what she guessed was the owner of the house's name, and then walk to the next door. Sam gestured for her to follow him and they continued down the hallway, taking a left. Floorboard quickly turned to soft, old carpet and Adelaide felt a lot more at ease. They stood in a library of sorts. Shelves full of hunter equipment, some she recognised, some she didn't, lined these walls too, and a big wooden desk sat up against the wall. There was an old, flea bitten sofa by the widow and she could just about see the edge of a demon trap poking out from under the rug. Yes, this was definitely a hunter's house, and a good one too. She looked to Sam and awkwardly lifted up her bag full of her only possessions.

"Where should I..?" She asked and Sam shrugged and shook his head, gesturing around the large room.

"Anywhere's good." He said and Adelaide thanked him. She looked around a little more before deciding to drop her bag by the foot of the old sofa, where it would be out of the way.

"Bobby!" Dean continued to call out for the man, whoever he was, ducking in and out of sight. "Bobby!"

"Quit your yelling and get your asses in here!" The new voice made Adelaide look up. It was an older, gruff voice with a distinct accent, coming from the next room. Dean finally met them in the library but continued through to the adjoining room, what looked like a kitchen. Adelaide raised her eyebrows at Sam,

"He sounds charming, can't wait to meet him." She said sarcastically and Sam laughed.

"You get used to him." He promised her, although Adelaide wasn't so sure. As they drew closer to the kitchen, she could hear Dean speaking with the man, Bobby, but when they finally entered the room, they stopped. Adelaide looked to Sam and saw his jaw was tight. He knew what they had been talking about and they hadn't involved him. Again. Adelaide stopped herself from wondering what was dividing the brothers, something that had nothing to do with her, and focused on this new man. Bobby was an older man, maybe in his fifties, with a full beard and a blue cap pulled down over his head. He wore a battered brown jacket and a pair of jeans and was sitting in a wheelchair, the only thing in his house that wasn't as old or older than he was. He nodded to Sam but didn't smile.

"Good, you're back. Listen, I-" He stopped when he finally noticed Adelaide, who was edging awkwardly around Sam so that she could see everyone better. Bobby narrowed his eyes at her and turned to Dean. "And who's this?" He asked. Adelaide was suddenly very nervous. She felt like she shouldn't be here. She'd just met two guys in an old building, killed a spirit and had dinner with them, then tagged along in their mission to stop the Apocalypse. Not a normal Friday night. She took a deep breath and gave him a weak smile.

"Adelaide Kingsley." She introduced herself. "We met in Rochester. I'm a-"

"I know a hunter when I see one." He interrupted her. He didn't seem angry or confused, just curious, which made Adelaide relax a considerable amount. "Whatcha doin' here?" Adelaide shrugged her shoulders and held her arms out wide.

"I volunteered as tribute." She said, smiling brightly. When her answer was met with a frown, Dean stepped in.

"She's gonna help us with the whole Apocalypse thing." He said, explaining the pop culture reference, and Adelaide tried not to show how embarrassed she was that her answer needed translating. Bobby turned back to her and raised his eyebrows.

"Is she now?" He said slowly, looking the girl up and down sceptically.

"Yes, _she_ is." Adelaide bit back, not liking the way he was so quickly dismissing her. Sam sighed exasperatedly. He was obviously used to a lot of criticism as well, especially being the younger brother. He knew how she felt and Adelaide found herself warming to Sam a little more.

"Bobby, c'mon, we need all the help we can get." He pressed and Bobby sighed, waving away Sam's unnecessary persistence.

"I know, I know." He said in a defeated voice and Adelaide assumed that meant she was allowed to stay. Bobby gave her a half smile, raising his eyebrows, and Adelaide was relieved at the change of character. She smiled faintly back as he put his hands on the wheels of his chair and pushed himself out of the kitchen, into the library. "I jus' hope you know what you're gettin' yourself in for." He added, his light tone making the dark words simultaneously reassuring and troubling. Adelaide chewed her lip and followed the two brothers back into the library.

"She'll soon find out." She heard Dean mutter and Adelaide grew even more nervous. She immediately shook it off though, because Sam was looking at her.

"That's ominous." She commented jokingly, letting the younger brother know that she hadn't been too put down by the other's words. Bobby wheeled himself behind the large desk and began to sort out the frankly disastrous mess of papers that sat on top of it. Dean, Sam and Adelaide stood in front of the desk, looking a bit like they'd been called into the headmaster's office, waiting for instructions. Bobby cleared his throat and interlocked his fingers on top of the desk.

"Alrighty then."

Half an hour later, after much deliberation, it was decided that it was far too late (early) to do anything now, so they should all 'get some shut-eye and hope nothin' too damn Apocalypsey happens before tomorrow morning'. Adelaide, who had been so consumed by the worry of working with people she didn't know, the fear of the world ending and the excitement of fighting to stop it, had completely forgotten about the little things, like where she would be sleeping. Bobby, she was told, now took the sofa in the library, so she could have his old room. But Sam had shook his head at that. There were three bedrooms upstairs, one for him, Dean and Adelaide. He had kindly given up his room, it being the cleanest, so that Adelaide didn't have to sleep in the untidy, old room of a man she had just met half an hour ago. As she sat on the pristine covers of Sam's bed, Adelaide thought about her new comrades. Sam was obviously kind and thoughtful, but she thought perhaps there was something more to him that they weren't telling her. What had Dean and Bobby been talking about in whispers before she and Sam had entered the room? She put that thought to the back of her mind for when she wasn't completely exhausted. She wasn't worried about Sam's kind gestures towards her. She knew they were strictly platonic, not like his brother's. Dean was flirty and brash but secretly quite sweet. She knew he cared deeply about his brother and Bobby, who he had referred to as Uncle, but she knew it wasn't a blood relation. Bobby seemed grumpy but kind. She knew she would eventually warm to him, and him to her. But for now, she decided she'd keep a respectful distance and try not say anything too stupid around him. That was her last thought before she fell back on the pillows, not bothering to get changed and fell right to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, the sun shone brilliantly through one of the dirty windows, waking the hunter up from a delightful dream about her and at least three members of the Avengers. Adelaide groaned and turned over on the bed, shielding her closed eyes from the bright sunlight streaming into her borrowed room. She dragged herself slowly out of bed, wincing slightly as her joints cracked. A quick shower and a much needed change of clothes later, she was downstairs in the kitchen. Sam handed her a piece of toast that she gladly accepted and began to devour hungrily as she walked into the library to listen to Dean and Bobby talking.

"So, uh, is there a plan, or are you just…" She trailed off uncertainly, flapping her free hand and flopping unceremoniously onto the squashy sofa. Dean laughed scornfully, tilting his head and looking at the floor.

"We're pretty much as clueless as you are." He told her honestly and Adelaide nodded slowly, pursing her lips.

"Fantastic." She mumbled, taking another bite of her toast.

"All we know is, we need to kill Lucifer. And the only way we're gonna do that is with the Colt." Adelaide raised her eyebrows and turned her head to Sam who was finally entering the room and joining the conversation.

"Mind filling me in?" She asked with a smile as Sam sat down on the edge of a small table across the room.

"Lucifer wants to destroy the world, heaven wants to stop him, cue awkward family reunion with catastrophic consequences." He explained plainly before beginning to eat his own breakfast. Dean tried not to smile at Adelaide's reaction. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open in shock. Eventually she seemed to shake herself out of her surprised state and vaguely nodded her head.

"Okie dokie." She replied quietly, turning her attention once again to her breakfast.

"The Colt, this gun, is one of the only things that can kill him." Sam continued. He looked to Dean and grimaced. "We hope." He added. Adelaide looked up and frowned at the three men.

"This whole plan seems a little half-arsed." She told them. The blank and somewhat offended looks she got back told her she should delve a little deeper. She finished her toast with one more bite and brushed off her hands. "So, we need to find a gun that may or may not kill the devil, but we have no idea where it is?" If the first half of the plan didn't sound ridiculously risky on its own, the second half really brought the whole thing home.

"Oh, we know where it is." Dean told her. The tone of his voice gave her the impression that wherever it was, it wasn't good. She looked to each man in turn.

"Oh, great." She said hopefully. When she saw their grim expressions, she bit her lip. "Not great?" She corrected herself and Sam chuckled.

"It just so happens the King of Hell has it." He told her and Adelaide blew out a long breath.

"Wonderful." She mumbled as she ran a hand through her still slightly damp hair. Dean frowned. There was recognition in her voice.

"You ever heard of Crowley?" He checked. Adelaide looked to him and nodded slowly, proving him right.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I have." She said slowly. She thought back to her travels across this country and remembered one man in particular. He'd been around fifty or so, and she had met him in a bar. He'd sat down and told her this long story about how he had sold his soul so that his son could get into college. He had regretted it almost instantly because his son's grades were better than expected, and he got a scholarship. He hadn't needed the demon deal. But now his ten years were up. Adelaide hadn't known what to do. When you make a deal with a demon, there's no going back. So she had bought the man another beer and sat and talked to him till his time was up. No one deserved to die alone, no matter how stupid their deal was. Adelaide grimaced at the memory and bowed her head. "Met someone who was on the run from him, once." She summarised. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, of course, he wasn't running for very long." She added.

"So you know how hard this is gonna be." Said Sam, leaning forward in his seat on top of the little table. Adelaide smiled briefly and nodded. Then she sighed, stood and clapped her hands together.

"Well, let's get on with it then." She said, raising her eyebrows at the men. "Where is he?"

"I'm working on that." A deep voice suddenly said behind her. Adelaide turned around to find a man standing in the kitchen. She stepped back in surprise, he definitely hadn't been there a few seconds ago. He had dark, scruffy hair and bright blue eyes, and he wore a suit under a long, dirty trench coat. He was looking at her intently and Adelaide found she couldn't look away from him, almost like she was drawn to him.

"Cas." Dean's voice broke her from her daze. Adelaide guessed that was the man's name, but Dean sounded surprised to see him.

"Does he live here too?" She guessed nervously, not liking the stillness and silence of the new man. He still stood solitaire in the kitchen, as if waiting to be invited into the library.

"God, no." She heard Bobby mutter and she frowned at him. Bobby, although gruff, seemed more accommodating than most. So who was this stranger if Bobby was so wary of him? Dean slid off of his seat on top of Bobby's desk and walked to the man. He smiled at him in a friendly way and put an arm around his shoulder, patting his back as he led him into the room. So there were close, good friends. Adelaide was still unsure as to how he could have crept in here without her knowing. Bobby's floors creaked like an old man's bones, she would have certainly heard his footsteps. And if that wasn't enough, her years as a hunter had fine-tuned her ears somewhat. Dean led Cas to her and started to introduce them.

"Cas, this is-" But Cas interrupted him, his eyes never leaving Adelaide's.

"Adelaide Kingsley." He stated. His deep voice had a gravely quality that Adelaide couldn't help but blush over. But the fact that this stranger knew her name and was looking at her like she was a new discovery was unnerving to say the least.

"How do you know that?" She asked him quietly, her smile turning to a frown. Cas tilted his head to one side as if trying to work her out and Adelaide couldn't help but think of the way the spirit of the drowned woman had looked at her the other night. She had to supress a shudder.

"The angels were talking about you." He told her, then he returned his attention to the others in the room. Sam looked somewhat relieved to see him whilst Bobby just looked exasperated. Adelaide still had no idea who this guy was and why he was here. But Dean seemed to trust him and that was enough for her. "They know you have acquired a new member to your…" The man looked around at them all slowly before turning back to Dean. "Army." He finished noncommittally.

"But I just got here." Adelaide spoke up and Cas turned to her again.

"They watch very closely." He told her darkly, and Adelaide suddenly felt very nervous. She'd only just found out that angels actually, properly existed and now they were watching her? She discreetly looked skyward then gritted her teeth, looking down again. She suddenly felt very aware of herself, her actions and more worryingly, her thoughts. Could angels read minds?

"So, you know them then? The angels?" She asked Cas nervously. If she was going to get any answers, it would be from him. He seemed to know the most about her feathered stalkers.

"He is one." Sam told her and Adelaide had to take a step back.

"W- what?" She managed to get out, her head turning to the dark-haired man. No. There way no way. He was just a guy. A guy in a long coat. There was no way he was an angel. Well, at least not like she had imagined they would look like. Angels were little and cute with wings and curly blonde hair, like in the paintings. This guy looked like… Well, he was hot. There was no way there could be hot angels. Cas turned to her and bowed his head slightly.

"My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord." He introduced himself properly and Adelaide snorted.

"Fuck off." She breathed, not believing him. Castiel frowned slightly at her profanity and turned to Dean for answers. Most people, when they found out who he was, didn't act like that. There was usually crying, laughing, praying, running… But never had he been told to 'fuck off'.

"I don't- That's not…" He looked helplessly as Dean who could only shrug his shoulders. Then Adelaide started to move towards him slowly. She slowly reached out a hand and Castiel grew nervous. "Why are you..?" Interaction, especially touching, made him nervous. Adelaide placed her hand over his chest and found that the man had a heartbeat. She wasn't sure why she did this, perhaps just to make sure he was actually here, that he was real. She frowned curiously at him, and began to circle him. She had grown up believing in angels, but never did she think she would ever meet one.

"So, where are your wings? Or is that really stupid question." She asked as she came full circle and was facing him again. Castiel seemed a lot more comfortable now that he could see her and she was talking to him normally. He still wasn't completely fluent in all of Earth's languages and colloquialisms and other such subtleties, but he knew straight talk.

"Humans cannot perceive them, your senses are too dull." He explained bluntly, not meaning to sound rude but managing it anyway. Adelaide raised her eyebrows and laughed a little.

"Cheers." She replied and Castiel frowned. Dean stepped in before anything else weird could happen between the two.

"Why're you here, Cas?" He asked, eyeing Adelaide worriedly. She had just found out that angels existed and now she was meeting one whilst planning to save the world. That was enough to fry a person's brains, for sure. But she looked calmer now that the attention wasn't on her.

"I've decided… We're going to need more help." The angel told them. Dean frowned. That seemed like a reasonable enough thing to say, so why was Cas looking so nervous all of a sudden.

"What, you mean we're not enough?" Bobby piped up from behind his desk. He was reading from a heavy book, not really that interested in what the angel had to say.

"No. Obviously." Castiel replied, not recognising Bobby's sarcastic tone. He turned back to Dean but looked down at the floor. "I want… I want to ask Gabriel if he'll help us." He admitted nervously. Dean blanched and Sam stood up angrily.

"What? That douchebag!" Now Adelaide knew why Cas had been so nervous. She would be too if she knew she'd get that kind of reaction.

"Who's Gabriel?" She asked, feeling once again, out of the loop. The boys were talking angrily to the angel, so Bobby stepped in.

"I'm pretty sure you know him." He told her, smiling slightly. Adelaide frowned.

"Eh?" She replied, not understanding what he meant.

"He may be… Difficult." Castiel admitted. "But there is no denying that the power of an archangel would add great strength to our offence." Adelaide was beyond confusion now.

"Archangel." She repeated, more to herself than the bickering trio.

"No. No way. He made our lives hell!" Sam shouted, bringing her back to Earth.

"He killed me, like, a billion times!" Added Dean for good measure. Adelaide looked to Bobby who nodded. She thought for a moment and began to put two and two together. Dean had said they'd had trouble with angels in the past. Gabriel, the archangel Gabriel, had obviously been one of the 'dicks' they had mentioned. But how could an angel be so cruel? He was supposed to be the one who announced Jesus' birth and all that. How could he possibly have killed Dean?

"Like I said, I know he can difficult, but I am right. He will be a powerful asset." Castiel pressed. Neither side wanted to back down and it looked like Bobby didn't want to get involved, so it was Adelaide who stepped up.

"I'm all for it." She said suddenly, stepping forward to join the discussion.

"What?" Dean cried. Adelaide raised her chin, not one for backing down easily.

"Well, it's like you said. We need all the help we can get." She reminded him. That seemed to take care of Dean, so she turned her attention to Sam. "And if Gabriel's willing to help us out, we should definitely let him." Sam laughed scornfully and looked to Castiel.

"_Is_ he willing?" He asked and the angel looked uncomfortable.

"Um." He murmured, looking down at the ground awkwardly. Adelaide looked round when Bobby closed his book with a heavy thud and slammed it down on his desk.

"Oh, great." He cried. "So I'm gonna have to trap an angel now, am I?" Dean smiled slightly at their friend's irritable, 'I-have-to-do-everything-around-here' attitude.

"It's alright, we've done it before." He told the older man in an attempt to calm him down. Bobby grumbled and began to wheel himself out from behind his desk and into the kitchen.

"Fine. But you do it outside." He said, sounding like a tired mother talking to her son. "The last damn thing we trapped in my house caused all sorts a trouble." He muttered to himself, but loud enough for them to hear how annoyed he was. Adelaide shared a smile with Dean then raised her eyebrows.

"Is that a yes?" She asked and Dean sighed exasperatedly. He looked to Sam and they seemed to silently come to a decision. Den looked back to her then Castiel and sighed again.

"Fine." He muttered, turning away from their conversation in defeat. He looked tired, but Sam looked angry. She wondered briefly why he of all people was so anti-archangel, but she left that thought for later when Sam gave her a tight smile. While Sam and Dean wandered off to collect all that they would need to summon the archangel then trap him, Adelaide turned to Castiel.

"So, Gabriel. What's he like?" She asked him. Castiel still looked a little wary of her, but he answered her question all the same, as it would be rude to ignore her.

"He's… Trying." He told her and she smiled slightly. "He spends most of his time interrupting the lives of humans and causing mischief." He looked thoughtful then nodded. "Yes, mischief is a good word for it." He confirmed. Adelaide couldn't help but grin.

"I like him already."


	4. Chapter 4

**I just realised I haven't spoken to any of you yet. Hi! This is the last chapter that isn't following the storyline of series five. Adelaide is going to be a bit of an add in, but she does have a few chapters to herself in the future, don't worry. Enjoy and please tell me what you think. **

* * *

Adelaide watched interestedly as Dean and Sam cleared a wide space for their guest. They were standing outside, around the back of Bobby's house. They'd moved far enough away from Dean and Adelaide's beloved cars so that neither of them would be damaged if Gabriel felt like being over-dramatic with his arrival. Right now, Dean was digging around in his duffel bag and Sam was laying out a variety of items on a creaky wooden work bench, things they would need to trap the angel, then defend themselves if things went sideways. Adelaide studied the various items and tried not to look as worried as she felt. She had to maintain the cold, sharp, clever persona she had going on at the moment. It wasn't that far from her actual personality, just with a little added stiff upper lip. She wanted to give the Winchester's the impression that she wasn't weak, that she could fend for herself without their help.

"So, what exactly is happening now?" She called to Dean, who was marking out a perfect circle with the heel of his shoe. The trap was a couple of meters away from the house, out in the open. There would be no room for any of Gabriel's usual tricks.

"Cas' gonna call his brother." He replied as he completed the circle. He jerked his head towards the angel, who was staring off into the distance, not helping set up the trap. Adelaide had been assured that Cas' blank, thoughtful silence was normal and not something she should question further. Happy that it was large enough and far enough away, he turned and walked back to them. "And we're gonna trap him." Adelaide admired the simplicity of the plan, but didn't have much confidence in how it would pan out.

"Okay." She nodded in understanding. "How?" Dean reached the workbench that Sam was leaning over and picked up a large jug his brother had placed on the old, splintered wood. He felt the weight of it in his hand, glancing up at Adelaide then back down to the jug.

"Angel trap." He said simply. Adelaide raised her eyebrows, even though she knew neither of them could see her. She'd never heard of such a thing. Hell, she hadn't even known angels were the real deal until recently. All this new information the Winchesters and Bobby were feeding her was beginning to fry her brain. How could an angel possibly be trapped? And how did the Winchesters know so much about this kind of thing? Dean looked up and saw her sceptical look. He smiled slightly and raised the large clay jug. It looked archaic, like it had just been pulled from an ancient tomb. There was even still a heavy layer of dust on the clay, obscuring its colour and any pattern that had been carved into it. He held it out for her to take a look at. "Circle of holy oil on the ground then," He raised his lighter in the other hand and grinned. "Boom. You've caught yourself a feathered freak." Adelaide took the jug from Dean and peered inside. The contents didn't seem that holy, or special in any way come to think of it. But if it did the job...

"Have you done this before?" Adelaide inquired as she handed the jug carefully back to Dean, who placed it down again on the table. The older brother opened his mouth to reply to her, but it was Bobby Singer's voice that answered her question.

"Don't worry, your Ladyship. Everything's gonna be fine." Bobby's call came from inside the house where he was busy looking through a ton of old books and generally being grumpy. Adelaide looked round and saw the old man through the library's open window. She crossed her arms over chest and scoffed.

"Your Ladyship?" She repeated crossly. Dean watched her walk into the open back door with a slight smirk. There was the slight fluttering of wings and he looked up. Cas was standing in front of the table, looking down at the ingredients for their trap with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you ready?" He asked quietly. If Dean didn't know him any better, he'd say he looked nervous. Instead of questioning the angel, he looked to Sam then back to him with a nod.

"As we'll ever be."

* * *

Adelaide entered the old library and spotted Bobby in the kitchen. She carefully walked to the doorway, trying not to fall over any of the piles of books that sat on the carpet. She leaned on the door frame with her arms crossed and worked up the courage to talk to the older man who had his back to her. She had a few questions that she'd been meaning to ask him, when she managed to get him on his own.

"Listen, Bobby, I have to ask…" She enquired slowly, tentatively. When Bobby only grunted in reply, she cleared her throat and continued. "What's up with Sam and Dean?" She asked, starting to chew on her lip, a nervous habit of hers. "I mean, I can understand wanting to stop the end of days and all that but…" She shrugged, taking a deep breath and sighing. It was difficult talking so openly about this with an almost stranger. But she needed to know. "There's something they're not telling me." She said finally. She heard Bobby sigh and he wheeled himself around. The lip chewing increased when she saw the frown etched onto his face. But, never one to be intimidated easily, she stood up straight and matched his stern gaze. "Why is it _their_ job?" She finished firmly, crossing her arms and jutting her chin. Bobby kept her gaze for a second more before sighing and turning away. He reached up and pulled three thick, leather-bound books down from the kitchen counter.

"You ask a lot of questions." He muttered as he placed the books on his lap. Adelaide allowed herself a small smile at that but hid it as soon as Bobby looked up at her again. "Well," He began in a tone that sounded tired, but was actually hiding a deep-seated worry. "It's been decided that Sammy is the one true vessel of Lucifer himself." Adelaide's lips parted slowly, her brow furrowed. She hadn't expected that. Bobby, who was a surprisingly patient man, waited for the news to settle in. Her wide blue eyes blinked slowly, like she'd been dazed.

"I'm sorry?" She breathed. Bobby grunted again and smiled humourlessly.

"Oh, it gets better." He promised as he began to leaf through one of the heavy books. "Dean is the chosen vessel of Michael, the archangel." By the now, the information had sunk in. She didn't know why she was still surprised by the things that came out of Bobby and the Winchester's mouths, but she still couldn't help herself from blowing out a long breath of surprise.

"Fuck." She muttered, to which Bobby snorted derisively.

"That about sums up the situation." He agreed, beginning to wheel himself out of the kitchen. Adelaide stepped aside out of the doorway so Bobby could pass. "So, not only do they have to stop Luci and Mikey bringing their epic battle to Earth, they also have to keep out of their way. You see, the angel's gotta have your permission before it possesses you." Adelaide frowned at that. That didn't sound right at all. She followed Bobby into the library and stood in front of his desk.

"Possesses? Like demons?" She asked curiously. Bobby nodded, still turning the dusty pages of one of the books. This one had intricate carvings on the cover that she didn't recognise and a lot of the content was in a language no one had spoken for centuries.

"Exactly." Bobby agreed. He looked up and nodded towards the window. "Castiel out there is wearing a Sales Provider for AM radio." He told her. "He's his true vessel." Adelaide raised her eyebrows and looked in the direction he'd indicated. Outside, the boys were busy filling the circle Dean had drawn with holy oil whilst Cas watched on curiously. To think that the person she was looking at was not a man, but an angel squashed into the shape of a man… It was mind-blowing. Then she found herself asking a question without her brain giving the order.

"Does he mind? The Sales Provider?" She heard Bobby scoff and she turned away from the window.

"He didn't have much choice from what I heard." He told her and Adelaide's expression dropped into a grimace. She had thought Cas was a nice guy, if a little severe. She was surprised that he had been so ruthless with the poor human man. "Dean told me the guy was dying and asked Cas to take over." Bobby continued, not noticing her shift in mood. "He didn't want his daughter to spend eternity as an angel's vessel, so he volunteered." Adelaide suddenly felt very sad. Looking out at the three men in the scrapyard, focusing on the one who was only shaped like man, her chest felt tight with grief. For the man, his daughter and for the life he left behind.

"Wow, brave guy." She said eventually, having to talk quietly so that Bobby didn't hear her voice crack. Bobby only 'hmmed' in reply, his book far more interesting than her miserable thoughts. Adelaide took a deep breath and shook her head, shaking herself out of her melancholy state. She turned away from the window once more and stood in front of Bobby's desk, resting her hands on the smooth wood.

"So, Dean and Sam just have to say 'no' and we're golden, right?" She asked in a much more upbeat and hopeful tone. But Bobby shook his head.

"It's not as easy as all that." He told her, placing one book and down and picking up another in its place. This one had a leather cover and, while the words were made up of the standard alphabet, it was in yet another language she didn't know. "Some of the angels have persuasive techniques that ain't so angelic." Adelaide pulled a face.

"Bloody hell." She noted eloquently and Bobby laughed. She was momentarily proud of herself that she'd made the old man laugh, but she couldn't relish it for long. Singer wheeled himself out from behind the desk and towards the side door.

"C'mon, they should be ready by now." He told her and Adelaide dutifully followed suit. As she stepped out into the brilliant sunlight of a Spring afternoon in Sioux Falls, Adelaide suddenly felt nervous. It was bad enough that she was in the presence of three men she didn't really know all that well, but now she was helping to summon an archangel, of all things. She knew she could defend herself, she knew she could hold her own, but the kind of power they were up against was unparalleled, like nothing she'd ever known. Dean looked around at her and smiled, making her feel a little less nervous. She watched silently as Dean took out his lighter, the one he had used to kill the vengeful spirit, and flicked the old lid. He glanced at Cas and nodded. The angel nodded back and closed his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath. Adelaide thought he must be reaching out to his brother, to Gabriel, wherever he was. Then he opened his eyes again and squared his shoulders. He was coming. Dean looked back to Adelaide and Bobby, who stood side by side, a little further away from the circle than the boys.

"Any second now." He told them gravely. Adelaide could sense the tension seeping out of Sam and Dean's bodies. Sam's hands were pulled into tight fists and Dean was toying anxiously with the lighter between his fingers. They were nervous, she would go as far as to say frightened. Adelaide was in the middle of wondering what on Earth she'd gotten herself into, when a peculiar noise interrupted her thoughts. There was the great sound of flapping wings, like a bird taking flight and then… There was a man. He was short, only perhaps an inch or two taller than herself, with quite long brown hair and a smug smile. He had mischievous eyes and he wore a pair of jeans and a dark shirt under a green jacket. He raised his eyebrows, his smirk growing.

"Hello, boys." He greeted, his clever eyes drifting from Dean to Sam. They didn't smile back. The man's gaze drifted to Castiel and his smirk grew into an almost smile. "Castiel, so happy to get your call. I've missed you, baby brother." Cas narrowed his eyes back but didn't say anything. Then Dean flicked on his lighter and dropped it on the ground. A circle of fire immediately erupted around the angel, trapping him. Adelaide nearly jumped back, the suddenness of Dean's actions startling her, but she knew that if she showed any weakness, she'd never prove herself to the boys. Gabriel looked around him at the circle of fire and sighed exhaustedly. "Again? Really?" He muttered.

"Gabriel, we need your help." Cas stated matter-of-factly. The other angel snorted and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"Straight down to business, huh? No 'hello', no 'how've you been, Gabes', no 'wow, you're looking good, what are you doing with your hair these days?'"

"Shut it." Dean barked, making the angel look up, his expression unimpressed.

"Oh, I've really missed you." He drawled sarcastically. Adelaide frowned, her lips pursed. This man, this angel, was not what she had expected. She had thought that Gabriel would be a tall, glorious, shining beacon of Godly goodness and this bloke was… Well, he was just a bloke. And quite a rude, astute one at that.

"Who's this?" Adelaide blurted out accidentally. The angel's eyes turned to her now and she suddenly felt very, very small. The man smiled charmingly and reached out, taking her hand in his and pulling her towards the edge of the circle. Adelaide was so busy focusing on not getting burnt that she hardly noticed the man was speaking to her.

"Hello." He greeted smoothly. "Enchanté, madam." He raised her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers. Adelaide made a disgruntled noise and frowned, turning her head to the brothers.

"Seriously, who is this?" She asked again, pointing to the man who still had her hand in his. This couldn't be the angel she had learned about when she was younger, the one who her parents had taught her about. He was bloody _flirting_ with her. She turned back to the man when he gently let go of her hand and smile broadly at her. She took a step away from the fire, worried that he would try and reach for her again.

"Gabriel. The name's Gabriel." He introduced himself, giving her a dangerous smirk that she would have found attractive if the circumstances were different. Adelaide took another step back away from the circle and shook her head, a hand covering her lips, the hand he had kissed.

"You can't be _the_ Gabriel?" She whispered, almost to herself. The angel smiled again and raised his arms grandly, as if presenting himself.

"The one and only." He said, making Dean roll his eyes.

"Way to feed his ego." He muttered and Adelaide was pulled back from her shock. She glanced at Dean, wincing slightly.

"Sorry." She apologised meekly but Gabriel shook his head.

"Don't be. The whole Messiah business, all down to me." He said proudly. He laughed. "You should've seen Mary's face! That was a hell of a night. You know, she packs quite a punch. Don't know what they're talking about with the whole innocent thing. Woo, she was a firecracker." Adelaide was on the verge of asking him a ton of questions but Dean cut in before she could even open her mouth.

"Shut it, Gabriel." Gabriel finally turned his gaze away from Adelaide and fixed the oldest brother with a cold stare.

"Deano, always a pleasure." He said sarcastically. Then he raised a finger, as if pointing something out. "Speaking of, I don't know _your_ name." He realised, turning back to Adelaide who shifted uncomfortably.

"And you're not gonna." Dean answered for her. Gabriel harrumphed in disapproval.

"What? You jealous? It's alright, you know I'll always have time for you." He drawled lazily, one eyebrow raised. He turned his gaze back to Adelaide, looking at her like he was reading her thoughts. The thought made Adelaide very nervous. Sam chuckled humourlessly.

"Sweet." He commented drily. "Now, the reason you're here-"

"We need your help." Cas interrupted bluntly. Gabriel still had his eyes drawn to Adelaide, to the point where she should feel uncomfortable. But there was something about his gaze that made her feel calm, relaxed. It was as if she knew that she had nothing to fear. Bloody hell, she was starting to understand how calm Mary had been about the whole virgin birth thing. Eventually, he pulled his gaze away from her long enough to look to his brother.

"Well, I wish I could say I'm surprised. You two aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the box." He muttered. Dean rolled his eyes. This meeting was going far too slowly for his liking, and being insulted by the guy he already didn't like was not helping his patience.

"We're gonna kill Lucifer." He told the archangel plainly, as if it were no mean feat. Adelaide actually had to hide a smile, the situation _was_ ridiculous. A sharp look from Bobby reminded her of the severity of the scene, and she immediately straightened out her expression. "And to do that, we need you." Gabriel sighed, far too relaxed for someone standing in the middle of a ring of fire that might kill him.

"Why me?" He groaned, his head lolling back onto his shoulders in exasperation. Adelaide thought she heard Dean swear under his breath before he moved closer to the circle. He held in his hand a long silver blade that glinted in the bright sunlight. Adelaide's jaw clenched. Were the Winchester's willing to torture to get their way? She usually would have nothing against it, torture in most cases was a means to an end and usually what you were hurting was a monster, something evil. But she didn't know how she felt about hurting the angel, despite his obnoxious attitude. Wouldn't that incur some divine wrath or something? Then she remembered, no God. God, her life was a mess.

"Because you're an archangel, dumbass." Dean shouted, trying to look threatening, but unfortunately, it had no effect on the much shorter man. Gabriel only wriggled his eyebrows impressively and smirked.

"Ouch. Easy there, tiger." He told him. Then he straightened up, his expression growing more serious. He seemed ready to listen now. "What I meant was, you got Castiel, you got demon boy, you got Ol' Man River, and now you got her royal highness, she-who-shall-not-be-named." At the last nickname, he looked to Adelaide and winked shamelessly. She made a disgusted sound and crossed her arms, but that didn't seem to deter the angel. "That's surely enough isn't it?" He asked as he turned back to Dean.

"You know it's not." He replied shortly. Gabriel sighed dramatically again and shrugged his shoulders.

"The gun. The special gun." He suggested, making a shooter shape with his index finger and thumb and pointing it at Dean. "Kilt? Zolt? Shooty-shooty-gun-thing." He rambled, pretending not to know what it was called just to annoy them. It worked. Sam rolled his eyes,

"The Colt." He said darkly. Gabriel snapped his fingers and looked disappointed in himself.

"So close." He said with a slight smile. Bobby tutted in annoyance.

"We don't have it." He called over to the trio doing most of the conversation. Gabriel nodded at the older man.

"Yeah, I know." He said simply. Then to Dean, "Do you know _where_ it is?" He asked, sounding like a patronising teacher. "Please tell me it's not with the angels." Dean lifted his chin.

"Demons, actually." He replied and Gabriel looked genuinely surprised. Adelaide shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and pulled the material closer around her. The sun had gone behind a cloud and the air had become very cold suddenly.

"Crowley likes to look after his toys." She offered evenly. Gabriel turned to her and chuckled.

"Ol' Crowley's got his claws in you? Boy, bet that's a hoot and a half." Adelaide snorted,

"Not in me personally, but I hear from the boys he's a right laugh." She said, making the angel chuckle again. He had a nice laugh, she decided, before she remembered he was an archangel and a bit of a dick.

"Oh, you have no idea." He told her, shaking his head in amusement. Then he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to one side curiously. "And you've been dragged into this why?" Adelaide frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I wasn't dragged, I volunteered." She retorted, her arms crossing over chest defensively. Gabriel didn't look convinced. He raised his eyebrows and gave her that half smile thing that shouldn't be, but really was, quite attractive.

"To fight Heaven and Hell?" He said sceptically. Adelaide gave a bark of laughter and nodded her head.

"Oh, yeah. I hear it's all kickin' off down under." She replied sardonically. Gabriel laughed, clapping his hands together. Dean's grip on his blade tightened, it was dangerous enough being around this guy without him getting interested in them.

"I like her, she's funny." Gabriel told the boys approvingly. He ran his eyes up and down her quickly. "Not too bad to look at either. Love that accent by the way, very sexy." Adelaide's smile disappeared instantly and Dean noticed her furious expression.

"Gabriel." Dean growled warningly. Gabriel raised his eyebrows, feigning innocence.

"I'm only talking." He said sweetly, making Dean's frown deepened.

"We asked you here for a reason, shortass." He stated, his voice rising in anger. Gabriel didn't seem affected by the dangerous tone of the Winchester. He only pouted and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets again.

"Now we're getting personal? You boys really don't know how asking for favours works, do ya?" He teased, smirking across at the brothers. Then he frowned. "And since when are you begging demons for help anyways?" Adelaide could see the matching angry expressions on the Winchester's faces and knew that she too was close to snapping. They were wasting valuable time listening to this idiot play with them for his own amusement without getting any information.

"Are you gonna help us or not?" She questioned haughtily. Gabriel turned to her with a patronising expression.

"Patience won't hurt you, sweetheart." He told her gently. This made Adelaide's anger flare even more. If there was anything she hated more than wasting time, it was being called 'sweetheart'.

"It's gonna hurt you in a minute." Warned Adelaide, uncrossing her arms and balling her hands into fists at her sides, fixing him with a stony glare. She was done playing now. But this only seemed to excite Gabriel more.

"Ooh, I like 'em fiery." He cheered. He grinned at her. "C'mere, honey." He said and grabbed her arm, pulling her as close to the circle as he could without burning her. He pulled her close and began to murmur in her ear. Dean saw Adelaide grimace and was in the middle of pulling his knife out on the angel when Adelaide gave a shocked cry and pulled her head away. Faster than he could blink, Adelaide pulled back her arm and gave the angel a hard right hook. So hard, it sent him staggering back a step. "Oh! Damn it!" He cried out in shock. Adelaide swore in pain, the blow wouldn't have hurt the angel but it had definitely hurt her. She stepped away from the circle, shaking her hand out. She was pretty sure she'd broken something but she'd worry about that later. She grimaced through the pain and turned to the brothers.

"I'll be inside." She stated angrily. She nodded once and straightened her jacket. "Don't be long." She told them before glancing at the captive angel once more. Then she turned on her heel and walked past Bobby to the back door. The brothers watched her walk away before turning back to the angel, who was rubbing his jaw with an annoyed frown.

"I tried to warn ya." Dean told him with a smug and somewhat proud smile.

* * *

Adelaide stormed through the house and into the library. She was furious. When she had signed up to help the Winchesters, she thought she might find out more about her faith and about the people she had been brought up to admire and aspire to be like. But now she was meeting them, it was like finally meeting your idol and finding out they're a compete bastard. She bitterly looked down at her right hand, the one she'd used to punch the angel. Stupid move, really. But it had gotten her out of his hold and had certainly made her feel better. She groaned slightly at the sight of her hand. There was a cloud of bruises starting to appear through her skin, thick purple and green marks that sent pain shooting up her arm when she dared to move her fingers. With her other hand, she gently moved her index and middle fingers and hissed in pain. Broken. Great. She looked up suddenly at the sound of footsteps and smiled slightly when it was Sam who entered the room. He stopped when he saw her hand and looked up at her, asking silently if she was alright. She gave him a small smile and nodded out the window to where she could see Dean, Cas and Bobby were still talking to Gabriel. "What a dick." She muttered and Sam laughed quietly. She allowed herself a bigger smile and looked down at her hand again. She wouldn't have to go to hospital for this. She'd had much worse. "Is he in then, do you reckon?" She asked, not that she really cared. She decided she didn't like Gabriel at all. He was rude and selfish and obnoxious and, ugh, just a right bastard.

"Well, punching him probably didn't help sell our case." Sam considered with a smile, making Adelaide feel a bit embarrassed. He sat down on the edge of Bobby's desk, his hands in his pockets. "But yes, I think he's in." He finished with a nod. She nodded back. They both looked up at the sound of more footsteps coming down the hall. Adelaide moved away from the door to the other side of the room to accommodate for the four people entering. The old library looked a bit crowded and just a bit odd, with two angels and four hunters all standing around looking exhausted and annoyed. Gabriel was the only one with a bright smile on his face as he looked around Bobby's house nosily.

"So is there a plan?" He asked conversationally as he picked up a book off of Bobby's desk and leafed through it, before dropping it again. He turned to the group and raised his eyebrows. Dean and Sam shared a look before Dean finally said,

"We're gonna find Crowley." Adelaide scoffed, and suddenly all eyes were on her. She cradled her broken hand in her other, in far too much pain to be embarrassed.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" She asked with expectant eyebrows raised. Dean smirked and walked over to Castiel.

"Luckily, we have our own little guardian angel to help us out with that." He replied, patting the angel heavily on the shoulder. Castiel scowled but Gabriel clapped his hands together, smiling at everyone in turn.

"Wonderful." He commented as if signing off. Then he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "So, I'll be going then." He said. Then he looked directly at Adelaide, his lips pouted thoughtfully. "Unless, of course, you need anything else or want to punch me again." Adelaide twisted her lip and stepped forward towards the angel. It was no good hiding behind the others.

"Sorry I hit you, that was rude." She told him genuinely. Then she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "But in my defence you were being a dick." Gabriel's smirk grew into a smile that made Adelaide's chest tighten for some reason. He stood up straight, no longer leaning against the desk and stepped closer to her. He reached out and gently took her hand, the one that he had kissed, the one that she had punched him with. She wanted to pull away, but was afraid that the jerking motion would cause her fingers more pain. He held her hand gently, much to her surprise and soon, her fingers started to feel oddly warm and tingly. She looked up at him with a frown, not noticing how the boys all seemed to be ready to spring into action if he tried anything funny again.

"It's no problem, your majesty." He told her quietly, and she noticed for the first time that his eyes weren't cold and mischievous, but warm and a strange gold colour that made her never want to look away. Then suddenly, he let go of her hand and stepped back. The moment was gone, his expression once again impish. "See you around." He told her with a wink. There was the sound of a great pair of wings flapping, and the angel blinked away. Adelaide let out a long breath she didn't know she'd been holding and looked down at her hand. The angry purple bruises were gone, and when she tried, she could easily move her fingers. She looked up to the spot where Gabriel had vanished and smiled slightly. She sent him a quick prayer of thanks in her head, whether he received it or not, she didn't know, but that didn't matter. She looked to the Winchesters and Bobby and raised her eyebrows.

"Crowley?"

"Crowley."


	5. Chapter 5

The Impala was parked by a lake, surrounded by lush green grass and supple trees that were beginning to brown. Sam sat on the hood of the old car, watching Dean over his shoulder. Adelaide was leaning against the side of their vehicle, staring out across the lake, thinking about what they were about to try and accomplish. Castiel was, at this moment, tracking the demon Crowley, who was busy making a deal. They would soon find out where his house was and then somehow, they'd get inside. This would have been a pretty simple task for the three hunters, if the house wasn't guarded by hoards of demons. Adelaide crossed her arms to try and encourage some extra warmth into her body. The cold wind whispered over the lake and played with her hair, sending goose bumps over her skin, despite the layers of clothes she wore. She was afraid, but wouldn't dare let it show. She tried to focus on the phase after Crowley's house, if they succeeded, and what that would entail. She wasn't going to think about the dangers of fighting their way into the King of Hell's house, and she definitely wasn't going to think about the golden-eyed angel who had agreed to help them. No way. She was thankfully interrupted from her own thoughts when Dean spoke.

"Going down?" Dean repeated into the phone, making Adelaide smile. She turned back to look out over the lake as the sun broke free of the clouds that tried to cover it, the glow of light warming her skin. "Right. Okay, Huggy Bear. Just don't lose him." A few more moments went by and Adelaide thought she heard Cas' voice crackling through the speakers, but it was too muffled to make out. Dean nodded, turning back and opening the door on driver's side. "That's okay, you did great. We'll take it from here." He said before he flipped his phone closed. Adelaide and Sam immediately began to move and they were quickly in their seats. Adelaide had initially protested about having to sit in the back, but Dean had given her a look and she had shut up about it. There were far more pressing matters to deal with today than who got shotgun. The Impala was soon roaring down the muddy path, water splattering under the spinning wheels.

* * *

Earlier that day, Adelaide had been introduced to yet another new face. Two new faces, actually. Ellen and Jo Harvelle were old friends of the Winchesters, and they were going to help them infiltrate Crowley's home. Ellen had been kind and warm, and had greeted her with a bright smile. Her daughter, who seemed wise beyond her years, was incredibly sweet and just as welcoming as her mother. Adelaide stood with Jo, a little way down the street from the house Cas had tracked Crowley to. She was dressed in a revealing black dress, her shoulders covered by Dean's jacket. Adelaide had noticed something between the two of them earlier, but had decided not to question it further. Sam motioned for Jo to follow him and she nodded. She smiled quickly at Adelaide before she followed the younger Winchester.

"Good luck." Adelaide called quietly after the younger woman. Jo mouthed the words 'thank you' back before she left Sam's side, handing Dean his jacket, and approached the gate of Crowley's decadent mansion. Adelaide began to chew the inside of her cheek and moved to stand next to Dean and Sam.

"She'll be fine." Dean reassured her under his breath, and Adelaide smiled up at him gratefully. They watched in silence as Jo pressed a button on the intercom. It buzzed angrily and after a second, a voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello. My car broke down. I- I need some help." Adelaide had to hand it to the young woman, she was a great actress. The voice sounded a little tired and annoyed, but it answered all the same.

"I'll be down in a minute." Jo turned around to wait and Adelaide saw Dean give her a reassuring smile. She nodded faintly back and looked around when the tall white gates swung open. Jo timidly walked past the gates as two men approached. Both wore black suits, one blonde and one brunette.

"Evening, pretty lady." The first man said, a sick smile on his lips. "Get yourself on in here." Jo smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I just need to make a call." She assured them.

"You don't need to call anyone, baby." The blonde man said, looking her up and down. He glanced back at his partner who was watching carefully from a distance. "We're the only help you're ever gonna need." By the car, Adelaide made a disgusted noise but was quickly shushed by Dean. Jo looked to the dark haired man and then back to the man speaking to her cautiously. She shook her head slightly.

"You know what? I… I think I should wait by my car." She decided. She turned to go, but the first man grabbed her shoulder. Adelaide watched his eyes go black and drew her gun from the inside pocket of her jacket. Dean looked to Sam who nodded, and they slowly started to make their way towards the gate.

"We said, get your ass in here." The blonde demon said, his tone changing from sleazy to threatening. Jo quirked her lip in disgust before she swung around, knocking the man's arm and shaking him loose. Then she swung her fist around and hit his shoulder. The man fell to the ground with a shout of pain. Before the second man could even react, Sam drove Ruby's knife through his neck. He quickly reached down and stabbed the first man with the knife, a bright glow of orange light emanating from his open mouth. Sam pulled the knife back and the demon fell to the ground dead. Adelaide and Dean walked towards the pair and Dean handed Jo a green duffel bag.

"Nice work, Jo." He told her.

"Thanks." She replied quickly, sounding out of breath. Adelaide smiled at Sam to make sure he was alright and was happy to receive a smile in return. Jo tugged open her bag and pulled out a pair of red bolt cutters. "Okay." She said, waving the tool with a smile. "Shall we?"

* * *

Adelaide stood in-between the two brothers as they stood in one of the vast corridors of Crowley's mansion. Sam to her right, Dean to her left. Jo was at that moment making sure that the electricity in Crowley's house was shut off. Their plan was to make him come looking for them. Then, as he walked over one of the extravagant rugs that decorated his halls, he would be trapped by the sigil they had painted on the underside. Hopefully. They saw the lights flicker and die and Adelaide held her breath. He was coming. Dean readjusted his grip on the long shotgun he was holding. Soon enough, as they had expected, footsteps could be heard echoing through the dark corridor. Then, a figure appeared at the end of the passageway.

"It's Crowley, right?" Sam called out and the figure stopped.

"So. The Hardy Boys finally found me." Said Crowley. He had a deep, gravelly voice and he spoke with an English accent, which Adelaide would have found comforting if the man speaking hadn't been a very powerful demon. He turned to look at them and raised his eyebrows. "Took you long enough." He looked surprised to see Adelaide and his lip curled. "And you brought a friend. How lovely." Adelaide's grip on her gun tightened and Sam raised his knife a little as Crowley approached. The demon smirked, but he stopped midstride when he noticed something out of sorts. He glanced down at the rug to see it was rumpled. Everything was completely immaculate in Crowley's mansion, and something out of place like this was a tell-tale sign that something was amiss. Sam swallowed, gritting his teeth nervously whilst Dean pressed his lips together, hoping that they wouldn't get caught out. Adelaide watched the demon's movements carefully, but didn't let her true feelings show, staying still as a statue. Crowley bent down and lifted the edge of the rug, exposing the devil's trap drawn there. Damn. Adelaide suddenly felt very, very afraid. With a sigh, Crowley stood up straight again.

"Do you have any idea how much this rug cost?" He asked exasperatedly. Suddenly, three demons appeared behind them and grabbed the trio, disarming them and pinning their arms behind their backs. The demon holding Adelaide bent forward, hissing by her ear and she made a repulsed sound. Crowley held up an old fashioned looking gun and Dean and Sam drew in a sharp breath. The Colt.

"This is it, right?" He said slowly, admiring the old weapon in his hand. "This is what it's all about." Adelaide felt her heart sink. There was no way that they would get the gun now. In fact, there was probably no way they were getting out of this in one piece. As if he had heard her thoughts, Crowley raised the gun and pointed it at Dean. Adelaide let out a gasp but the demon holding her clapped a hand tightly over her mouth. Crowley's expression remained impassive as he aimed the gun and Adelaide thought they were surely done for. Then Crowley did something odd. He adjusted his aim, moving the gun an inch to the left, and fired. Instead of the bullet hitting Dean, it went through the skull of the demon holding him. The gun cracked twice more and two bullets flew into the heads of the demons holding Adelaide and Sam. They fell to the ground with a dull thud. The trio of hunters looked down at the bodies on the floor in confusion then back to Crowley. He raised his eyebrows again and motioned to the Winchesters and Adelaide.

"We need to talk. Privately." He said, and turned away, walking back the way he had come. They tentatively started to follow the demon, casting confused looks to each other. Good, they were all on the same page titled: misunderstanding. Crowley lead Dean, Sam and Adelaide into another room, this one just as decadent as the rest of his house. This room was beautifully furnished, with a huge wooden desk adorned with expensive looking stationary. There was a wide window on the far wall but the whole room was filled with shadow. Old paintings hung on the walls, a few candles were dotted about the room. A fire crackled in an ornate fireplace. It was the epitome of an evil villain's lair.

"What the hell is this?" Dean growled, and Adelaide couldn't help but think that should try and be a little more polite in the presence of such a dangerous demon. But Crowley didn't seem bothered by Dean's abruptness, in fact he ignored him altogether.

"Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing?" He said, brandishing the Colt airily. Adelaide kept her eyes on the gun, wondering how far she could get if she just reached out and grabbed it. Crowley waved his hand and the heavy door slammed shut behind them. "There's no reason you or anyone should know this even exists, except that I told you." Crowley continued and Sam scoffed.

"_You_ told us." He repeated incredulously. Crowley smirked.

"Rumours, innuendo sent out on the grapevine." Sam still looked dubious, and Adelaide had to admit she was a little lost. Why would Crowley of all people be the one to tell them where the Colt was? This had to be a trick.

"Why? Why tell us anything?" Inquired Sam, asking what they were all thinking. Crowley said nothing, but raised the Colt once more. He aimed the gun at Dean's head and Adelaide flinched. But Dean remained motionless, a curious look on his face.

"I want you to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face." Crowley said quietly. There was silence for a moment as the three hunters took in what the demon had said. Adelaide's lips parted slightly, her forehead creasing in confusion. She glanced at Sam out of the corner of her eye and was relieved to see he looked as confused as she felt.

"Uh-huh. Okay." Dean said slowly. "And _why_ exactly would you want the devil dead?" Crowley looked a little irritated as he lowered the gun and placed it down on his desk.

"It's called… Survival." He explained to them his lips pursed. Then he added, "But I forgot you two, at best, are functional morons." Dean looked offended and he squared his shoulders.

"Hey, you're functioning morons..." Adelaide and Sam turned to look at Dean who blinked, seemingly surprised at his own stupidity. "Mor…" He tried faintly again but trailed off, looking at the floor, disappointed in himself. Crowley sighed and turned to Adelaide.

"And I don't know who you are, but I'm guessing you're not exactly the head of MENSA either." Adelaide was so surprised that she was finally being addressed that all she managed was a short 'erm' sound. Crowley rolled his eyes. "I thought as much." It was Adelaide's turn to look embarrassed, and she looked down at her feet to hide her red face. "Lucifer isn't a demon, remember?" Crowley continued, raising his eyebrows expectantly. "He's an angel. An angel famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just filthy bags of pus." Adelaide wrinkled her nose but didn't say anything. Crowley looked at them all in turn before he turned and picked up a glass tumbler off of his desk. Dean took a furtive glance down at the Colt, now resting unguarded on top of Crowley's desk. But it was far too risky to try and grab it. "If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?" He contemplated slowly. Sam frowned,

"But he created you."

"To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder." Crowley explained slowly. He walked around his desk and sat leaning against the old wood. "If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind, we're next." Adelaide almost felt sorry for the demon before she remembered who he was and what he was capable of. "So, help me, huh?" Crowley continued, his voice switching from moody villain to friendly and almost humorous. "Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures." He shrugged. "I'm in sales, dammit!" That Adelaide believed. The convincing way in which he was speaking to them definitely had an air of greedy salesman about it. "So what do you say," Crowley went on. He turned and picked up the Colt again. "If I give you this thing, and you go kill the devil." He held out the gun, holding it by the barrel for Sam to take. He raised his eyebrows, smiling at the three hunters. Dean and Sam glanced at each other whilst Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the demon. Crowley held her gaze and smirked back. Then he wiggled the gun temptingly. Sam hesitantly reached out and took the gun by the grip, shaking his head slightly in disbelief whilst Dean watched on carefully. It seemed ridiculous that after all this planning and worry, that they were literally being handed the gun.

"Okay." Sam said perplexedly. Crowley gave him a devilish smile.

"Great." He replied, as if sealing a deal. There was a pause and Sam looked down at the powerful weapon in his hands.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the devil is, by chance, would you?" He asked and Crowley thought for a moment.

"Thursday…" He said slowly, turning to his desk and picking up his tumbler again. "Birdies tell me, he has an appointment in Carthage, Missouri." Sam glanced at Dean and nodded. Then he looked back down at the Colt safely in his hands.

"Great. Thanks." He said quietly. Then, to Adelaide's surprise, he raised the gun, pointing the barrel between Crowley's eyes. He pulled the trigger and… Nothing happened. The gun clicked but there was no explosion. Sam stared, surprised, and Crowley only stared back, his face impassive apart from a slight smile. Dean seemed frozen, torn between amusement and fear. Adelaide's eyes were wide, this was a bit awkward. Crowley nodded,

"Oh, yeah, right, you'll probably need some more ammunition." He added thoughtfully. He went to his desk and opened a drawer. Adelaide was more than happy to get out of there as soon as possible, but Dean spoke up.

"Oh, uh, excuse me for asking, but aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant?" He asked and Crowley looked up interestedly. "I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the devil and lose?" Crowley sighed in frustration.

"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway." He said quickly. "Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, okay?! Morons!" He suddenly yelled, making Adelaide flinch. Her hand gripped the gun in her jacket pocket, the cool metal keeping her calm, reassuring her that she could always fight her way out of any situation. Crowley suddenly threw something to Dean, who caught it and hurriedly opened it. Inside were two lines of bullets for the Colt. Adelaide felt her heart rate slow down again. They were safe, for now. When they looked up, Crowley had disappeared. Sam sighed and Adelaide blew out a long breath.

"Well then." She said.

* * *

The Impala pulled up outside Bobby's house and Sam and Dean climbed out. They were consumed with worry and confusion. The task Crowley had set them was a heavy burden to bear. Killing the devil seemed impossible in itself, but now there was the extra weight of the wrath of Crowley to worry about. Adelaide had been on the phone to her partner for the last five minutes or so, explaining their situation, and she was still talking to her when she clambered out of the Impala. Dean and Sam managed to get halfway across the old scrapyard when a familiar yet unwelcome voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Well, done, guys. I'm impressed. You managed that without messing up too bad." The Winchesters looked up to see Gabriel standing by the back door, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. They both sighed as they made their way towards the house.

"Thank you, Gabriel." Sam said sarcastically. Gabriel winked back at him, only fuelling his annoyance, before he spotted their new friend a little way behind them. Adelaide was talking animatedly on the phone, still walking across the yard.

"Yeah." She said, then paused. "Yes. No, it's cool, don't worry." Gabriel frowned curiously at the woman who still hadn't noticed him. She was a strange one. Outwardly, she appeared hard and uncaring, much like the Winchesters sometimes had to be, but underneath there was something else, someone else. "Yeah. Yeah!" She laughed, and the sound made Gabriel smile. "Okay. Bye. Bye!" She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her jacket pocket.

"You know, I never got your name." Gabriel called to her. Adelaide jumped and looked around, finally spotting the angel. He smiled at her and she sighed, not happy about being startled. She raised her eyebrows, giving a disbelieving laugh.

"Is that so surprising?" She replied as she made her way towards him. When Gabriel frowned in confusion she laughed scornfully. "Really?" She scoffed as she made her way past him and into the house. He followed close behind and soon they were standing outside the doorway to the library. "The first time we met, you acted like a right dick." Gabriel opened his mouth to reply, but a voice interrupted him.

"He wasn't acting." Called Dean from inside the library. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Dean." He drawled, shaking his head slightly. Then he looked back to Adelaide and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry." Adelaide snorted,

"Oh, yeah?" She asked with an incredulous laugh. Gabriel nodded looking slightly guilty.

"Yeah." He repeated sincerely. "I can't help but feel like we got off on the wrong foot." This surprised Adelaide. This man, no, angel, standing in front of her was completely different to the one she had met yesterday. Perhaps he had realised the error of his ways. He did seem genuinely sorry. The angel held his out of for her to shake. "Gabriel." He said, introducing himself again with a bright smile. Adelaide twisted her lip, not sure whether she should shake the man's hand. But then she saw something in his honey-coloured eyes that made her think that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. She smiled slightly and took his hand, shaking it firmly.

"Adelaide Kingsley." She replied, introducing herself in turn.

"Adelaide." Gabriel repeated, trying the name out. His smile grew and he nodded approvingly. "Great name." He told her and Adelaide couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah?" She asked, finally letting go after she realised they were still holding hands. Dean looked to Sam who raised his eyebrows back knowingly. Dean snorted and Jo reached across, slapping his arm.

"Suits you." Gabriel told her and Adelaide crossed her arms, feeling a lot more comfortable around the angel now that he was being pleasant.

"I would say Gabriel suits you but, you know, you actually are Gabriel, so..." She trailed off clumsily, but Gabriel nodded.

"Yeah, makes it difficult to compliment me." He winked at her. "Doesn't mean you shouldn't try, though." Adelaide laughed, shaking her head.

"Ha ha, oh, funny angel!" She said sarcastically. She gave him a pointed look. "Don't make me regret shaking your hand."

"If you guys are done making out, we've got drinks." Dean suddenly called, making Adelaide and Gabriel jump. Adelaide looked around at Dean and shot him a dirty look. Gabriel pouted his lips thoughtfully.

"You know, we could-"

"Don't even." Adelaide said abruptly, raising her hand to stop him from finishing his sentence. Then she smiled once more at Gabriel and walked to the kitchen. Gabriel watched her leave with an odd smile on his face, but looked away when Dean cleared his throat. Adelaide grabbed a beer from the fridge and leaned against the whirring old machine once she'd closed the door again. Ellen was sat across from Castiel, who was watching every move she made interestedly. She too began to watch as Ellen laid out five full shot glasses in a row on the small kitchen table. Jo sat between them with a beer in her hand and a grin on her face. Ellen drained her fifth shot glass and put it back upside-down on the table.

"All right, big boy. Go" She challenged the angel who looked unfazed. Castiel eagerly picked up the first shot, draining it with ease. He quickly moved on to the next four and Adelaide let out an astonished laugh as Cas drained all five of his shots in quick succession. Ellen stared back, somewhere between impressed and shocked. Cas looked at them all, seeming almost excited at the new game.

"I think I'm starting to feel something." He told them with a slight smile. Adelaide looked to Jo as she gawked at the man, starting to grin. In the library, Sam and Dean sat at opposite sides of Bobby's desk, both with beer bottles in hand. Adelaide turned her gaze away from the angel's amazing party trick to listen to what the boys were saying. She knew she probably shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she knew that what they were saying might be important.

"It's gotta be a trap, right?" Said Sam and Dean looked up from the paper he was reading.

"Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon. Well, better late than never." He joked and Sam surprisingly took it in good humour. He nodded back with a small smile.

"Thank you again for your continued support." He joked back, leaning over the desk to raise his beer. Dean clinked his bottle against Sam's then raised it to his lips.

"You're welcome." He replied, and Sam only shook his head. Adelaide decided they'd reached a suitable stopping point, so she walked over to meet the boys. Dean looked up when he saw her approaching and gave her a smile. She returned it and sat on the edge of Bobby's desk, near Sam.

"Good to see you boys getting along." She said teasingly and the Winchester's both snorted. She raised her phone in her hand and looked down at the papers strewn across the wooden desk. "I called my partner." She said. "I told you about Lee, didn't I?" Dean sat back in his chair.

"Yes, the, uh, sixteen year old werewolf slayer." He said with a bemused grin. Adelaide clutched her hands to her chest and sighed dreamily.

"My hero." She lisped, making the boys laugh. Then she cleared her throat and started talking a little more seriously. "Anyway, she's on her way here." She told them. Sam looked up, eyebrows raised.

"As in _here_ here." He replied. Adelaide frowned at him in a 'duh' kind of way before she shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her beer.

"I figured we're gonna need all the help we can get." She said, repeating the words Dean had used to convince Bobby to let her stay. Dean caught on and smiled.

"I'll drink to that." He said and raised his bottle. Adelaide grinned and clinked her beer against his, then Sam's, before sliding off the desk and rejoining Ellen, Jo and Cas in the kitchen. She had missed her friend dearly over the past few months since she'd been away. Her older brother had been in a car accident, so she'd rushed home instantly. Of course, Adelaide understood completely. She had known Lee and her family for a long time, and had sent her best wishes along with her friend. But she couldn't help but feel a little lonely now and then, especially on hunts. It was dangerous enough, the job that they had, but even more so by yourself. She could have taken some time off while her partner was in another country, but she found that she wasn't happy unless she was busy. Plus, being chased by a Wendigo in a creepy forest was way more fun than awful daytime television.

Adelaide looked around at the group of friends she had made in such a short time and realised that she wasn't lonely now. But then the awfulness of tomorrow and what it would bring came crawling back into Adelaide's head. Lee wouldn't be here for another two days or so. What if she wasn't here when her friend came knocking for her? What if tomorrow was the day her luck as a hunter finally ran out? She suddenly felt sick. Adelaide was close to running from the room when a voice interrupted her morbid thoughts, making her jump.

"Hey, little lady." She gasped and looked up to find Gabriel standing before her. He had a concerned frown on his face, his eyes searching hers. "Are you okay?" He asked kindly. "You looked like you were having a nightmare." Adelaide felt her face grow hot, she hadn't noticed she had zoned out quite so much.

"No, sorry, I'm fine." She said quickly, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I was just thinking about tomorrow and, you know..." Gabriel's expression relaxed and he nodded understandingly.

"It's gonna be a bitch of a day, for sure." He replied quietly. Adelaide gave a slight sigh of agreement. She offered him a sip of her beer but he politely declined. They shared a companionable silence for a moment, the angel and the human leaning against the kitchen wall whilst their friends talked and laughed.

"Are you gonna be there?" Adelaide asked eventually, turning her head towards Gabriel. He looked back at her for a moment, opening his mouth to reply, but he shook his head and looked down at the floor.

"I can't." He said quietly. Adelaide felt like she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help herself.

"Why not?" She inquired, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. Gabriel looked around and saw that everyone was too absorbed in their conversations or drinking games to listen in on what they were saying.

"Don't tell anyone I told you this, but…" He said slowly, turning his head to her so he could speak more quietly. Adelaide nodded, promising silently that she wouldn't tell anyone. Gabriel looked at her for a moment before he sighed. "I can't…" He tried to speak, but found his mouth was suddenly very dry "I can't kill my brother." He told her. Adelaide's lips parted in confusion, diverting Gabriel's gaze monetarily, but he looked back up to her eyes when she spoke.

"But he's-"

"The devil, I know but…" He readjusted his position against the wall so that he was more turned in, meaning he was able to whisper to her without anyone else hearing. "The reason I left, the reason I went AWOL for so long is because I couldn't stand listening to my family fighting anymore." He explained to her, and Adelaide was surprised that he trusted her with this information. "I don't wanna fight anyone, especially my brother." He admitted, and Adelaide suddenly felt a lot more compassion and understanding for the rebel angel. He didn't want to watch his family be torn apart, so he left. She understood his circumstances and the way he acted so much more now. Gabriel looked down at his feet guilty. "I know that sending humans into a fight with angels without much help is pretty awful, but I just…"

"I understand." Adelaide whispered. Gabriel looked up at her incredulously and she nodded. "I do, I understand. I wouldn't want to fight my brother either." Gabriel's eyes searched hers for a moment before a smile slowly spread across his face.

"You have a brother?" He asked quietly and Adelaide saw that the change of subject was lifting him from his sorrowful thoughts.

"Seventeen months younger than me but about a foot taller. Always has been." She told him and Gabriel laughed softly.

"What's his name?" He asked and Adelaide smiled slightly.

"Joshua." She told him and Gabriel laughed properly.

"Biblical." He commented when Adelaide looked at him questioningly.

"Ironic, I know right." She replied drily, making Gabriel chuckle again.

"You should meet the _real_ Joshua. He's quite a nice guy." He said and Adelaide snorted, looking around the room.

"I think meeting you and Cas is enough for now." She told him honestly and Gabriel nodded. She looked back at him, her eyes travelling over his face, taking in every detail from his unusual eyes to his comfortable smile. He looked back to her and she immediately dropped her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring.

"You feeling better?" He asked her and she met his gaze with a smile.

"Yeah. Much. Thank you." She told him and Gabriel shook his head.

"Thank _you_." He replied and Adelaide's smile diminished as she held the gaze of the archangel. There were silent for a moment and Adelaide almost found herself forgetting where she was as she looked into Gabriel's eyes. But then she cleared her throat and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Hang on, did you call me little lady?" She suddenly asked, remembering how their conversation had started. Gabriel looked momentarily surprised at the unexpected change in their conversation's direction, but he smiled all the same.

"Yes, yes I did." He said proudly and Adelaide frowned at him.

"Why?"

"Lady, short for Adelaide, and little because, well…" He said, pointedly looking her up and down. Adelaide had always been a little sensitive about her height and she hated having it pointed out, especially by snarky, sarcastic archangels with nice eyes.

"Oh, fuck off." She muttered, turning away from him and walking across the kitchen to talk to Jo. Gabriel gasped melodramatically and walked after her.

"That's no way to speak to an angel." He told her, pretending to be offended, and Adelaide shot him a grin over her shoulder. Bobby's voice suddenly came calling through the house.

"Everybody get in here! It's time for the line-up." Adelaide looked down at Jo in her chair and she shrugged her shoulders back. They all moved from the kitchen into the library and found Bobby setting up an old camera with a large flash. Sam entered first with Ellen close behind, looking at the camera with distaste. "Usual suspects in the corner." Said Bobby, jabbing his thumb to where he wanted them to stand.

"Oh come on, Bobby. Nobody wants their picture taken." Ellen complained half-heartedly and Sam snorted.

"Hear, hear." He agreed. Cas entered next, followed by Dean and Jo.

"Shut up. You're drinking my beer." Bobby drawled as he finished fiddling with the camera on its tripod. He then rolled his wheelchair back to get in frame with the others. Adelaide and Gabriel hung back, standing in the doorway. Neither of them considered themselves a part of the small, mismatched family already positioned in front of the camera. But Dean looked around when he noticed Adelaide wasn't in the group and saw her standing out of the way.

"Adelaide, c'mon." He said with a grin, gesturing for her to join them. Jo held her arm out to her and Adelaide's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't thought they'd have wanted her in the picture, she being a stranger. But their smiles told her otherwise and she joined them, wrapping her arm around Jo's waist and smiling back at everyone. Then she looked back to Gabriel, who still stood in the doorway, watching them all with a curious smile on his face. Adelaide held her hand out, gesturing for him to stand next to her.

"Gabriel." She said, but the angel shook his head.

"I don't-" Adelaide shot him a dangerous look. He thought momentarily about turning her down again, but the warm smile she gave him pulled him in, and he stood next to her. They all jostled about, putting arms around each other's shoulders and grouping together closer so that they were all in the shot.

"Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by." Bobby said, making Ellen laugh.

"Ha! Always good to have an optimist around." She said and everyone smiled for the picture. But then Cas spoke up, his voice grave.

"Bobby's right. Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on earth." Adelaide felt that feeling come creeping back up her spine, that feeling of dread that she had thought had disappeared, but was in fact only hiding, waiting. Tomorrow, there was a large possibility that none of them would make it home. She thought of her friend, Lee, coming to meet them as they spoke, of her family at home, who had no idea what kind of life she led, and of the friends she had made recently, who were so brave and so kind. She looked up at Gabriel to see him looking down at her, that same worry reflected in his eyes. Then the camera flashed.

* * *

The Impala purred as they edged down the empty street. Adelaide sat in the back seat, watching as Sam and Dean leaned their arms out the windows, trying to get a signal on their phones. Missing posters were tacked to every telephone pole and Adelaide was starting to feel more than a little nervous about the emptiness of the town. They hadn't seen a single person so far. The Impala drove past a huge American flag with the words 'ANTI-GOD IS ANTI-AMERICAN' painted on it. How ironic.

"You getting a signal?" Sam asked and Dean shook his head.

"No, nothing. Nice and spooky." He said, pulling the car over a little. He waved the other car, its passengers Ellen, Jo and Cas, up next to them.

"Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen said, voicing what they were all thinking.

"We're gonna go check out the PD. You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody." Dean said.

"Okay."

* * *

Adelaide, Sam and Dean had checked of the station to find it just as deserted as the rest of the town. They had parked the car and were walking down the street when Ellen and Jo pulled up beside them.

"Station's empty." Dean told them and Jo sighed.

"So's everything else." She said and Adelaide was beginning to feel sick with worry.

"Have you seen Cas?" Ellen asked and the trio blanched.

"What?" Said Adelaide, and Sam shook his head slightly.

"He was with you." Ellen pursed her lips.

"Nope. He went after the reapers."

"Reapers?"

"He saw reapers? Where?" Jo leaned forward in her seat to speak to them better and they saw she looked just as worried as they felt.

"Well, kind of… Everywhere." She told them and Ellen nodded. Sam and Dean shared a glance and Adelaide drew her gun from her pocket. It was starting. Ellen parked the car and they started to move. They walked in a group down the road, all with guns in hand, looking out carefully for any signs of trouble.

"Well, this is great, been in town twenty minutes and already lost the angel up our sleeve." Dean grumbled, making Adelaide roll her eyes. This really wasn't the time to be complaining. She was worried about the amount of noise they were making. The town seemed so dead, so quiet, that any slight noise made her jump. "Speaking of angels," Dean said. "Anyone know if Gabriel's gonna make an appearance any time soon?" Adelaide turned her eyes to the gravel strewn road.

"He's not coming." She told him darkly. Dean looked over at her and she saw out of the corner of her eye that he looked a little angry.

"What? Why?" Adelaide shot him a look but didn't say anything. Dean sighed. "Great." He muttered. There was a moment's pause as they continued down the stretch, until Sam had an idea.

"You think, uh, you think Lucifer got Cas?" He asked and Dean shook his head.

"I don't know what else to think."

"There you are." A cold, unfamiliar voice called. The five hunters spun around, guns raised and pointed at the source of the new threat. A woman stood in the road. She had dark hair and even darker eyes, and a smirk that made Adelaide know at once that she was dangerous. A wind started to howl down the streets, tossing the hair and clothes of the hunters and the strange woman. Sam stepped forward, his shotgun pointed at the woman.

"Meg." He barked. Adelaide wasn't surprised that they knew her, nothing the Winchester's did surprised her anymore.

"Shouldn't have come here, boys." Meg said, a strange lilt to her tone that frightened Adelaide a little. This woman was completely in control of the situation.

"Hell, I could say the same thing for you." Dean growled, stepping forward and aiming their prized possession, the Colt, at the woman. So, she was a demon then. Great. Meg didn't even flinch as the ancient gun was turned on her.

"Didn't come here alone, Deano." She said patronisingly, as she glanced to her right. Something splashed in a puddle near Meg's feet and the sound of a dog growling and barking reverberated through the bones of the hunters. The growling increased and Adelaide looked around when she heard a bark by her left leg. She gasped and moved away from the sound. They were surrounded. Dean felt his stomach drop, but he didn't dare show how afraid he felt.

"Hellhounds." He declared lightly, trying desperately not to think of the hellhound that had dragged him to hell only a year or two ago.

"Yeah, Dean. Your favourite." Meg called back, beginning to smile now. "Come on, boys. My father wants to see you." Adelaide felt her hands shaking around the grip on her gun.

"I think we'll pass, thanks." Sam had to shout over the howl of the wind and the hellhounds.

"Your call." Meg said simply. "You can make this easy or you can make it really, _really_ hard." Dean slowly turned his head to look back at the group. He looked to Ellen, who nodded shortly back, then to Adelaide who gave him a shaky yet determined smile. Dean swallowed hard, his grip on the Colt tightening.

"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" He said as he turned back to the demon in the shape of a woman. Meg only shook her head. Adelaide watched in horror as Dean shifted his aim and fired the Colt at the space by Meg's feet. Blood spurted out of the invisible hound and the others began to growl in anger.

"Run!" Sam yelled and they all immediately span around and ran the other way. Adrenalin shot through her as Adelaide ran beside the others, the sound of hellhounds biting at their heels. She pumped her arms, trying desperately not to scream as they pelted down the street. The sound of howls and snarls filled her ears and she could hear the thud, thud, thud of heavy padded paws on the pavement. Then suddenly a scream filled the street.

"Dean!" Jo yelled. Adelaide looked over her shoulder to see that Dean had been tackled by a hellhound. Jo was running to his aid.

"Jo, stay back!" Dean cried, but the young woman fired her gun repeatedly at the hound. Adelaide, Ellen and Sam skidded to a halt and Jo kept firing, knocking the hellhound further and further back. Adelaide screamed as another hellhound jumped on her from the side. Ellen's eyes flew wide and she ran to her daughter, Sam and Adelaide close behind. The hellhound shredded Jo's side and the young woman screeched in agony. The three hunters fired their guns, knocking the hellhound back off of Jo and Dean was able to scoop her up in his arms. He ran past the remaining hunters, who quickly turned to follow. They followed Dean into the nearest shop, Ellen holding the door open and Sam and Adelaide hanging back to shoot more of the hounds. As Dean carried Jo through the hardware store, blood spilled out onto the pristine white floor, leading a trail to where he gently placed her down against the counter. The young woman whimpered in pain as her mother began to try and calm her down.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, breathe now." Sam and Adelaide got to work securing the doors, making sure that the hellhounds wouldn't follow them into the store. They grabbed heavy metal chains and wrapped them around the door handles, pulling them shut. Dean spotted a wheelbarrow full of bags of rock salt in the corner and grabbed a bag, running to help Sam and Adelaide.

"Guys, need some help here!" Ellen called anxiously as the three hunters slit the bags open and frantically lined the doorway and windows. Dean grabbed his shotgun once they had finished and the trio stood over Ellen and Jo on the floor. Jo looked at them all in turn, a dazed look in her eyes. She looked so pale, so weak. Adelaide was panting furiously as she watched Ellen peel Jo's hand away from her injury. The tears in her flesh spurted blood, and Adelaide felt sick. Ellen looked over her shoulder at them, horrified. Adelaide took a step back, her hands flying to her head. Jo was beyond repair. They were trapped. They were going to die here.


End file.
